Kazakhstan bag Bronze as rain disrupts Olympic Games

Kazakhstan duo Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev won the first medal of the Olympic Games on Saturday after claiming bronze in the 10-metre mixed team air rifle event, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, heavy rain disrupted the first full day of medal action at the Olympics as attention turned to sport after a spectacular but soggy opening ceremony.

Le and Satpayev cruised to victory over Germany’s Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen, outscoring their opponents 17-5.

A total of 14 golds are due to be up for grabs, with the first to come in the mixed-team 10-metre air rifle finals, taking place around 10:30 am local time.

But that number was swiftly reduced to 13 early on Saturday as the wet weather which deluged Friday night’s audacious opening ceremony along the River Seine continued to cause headaches.

The men’s street skateboarding competition, due to take place at the Place de la Concorde in the historic heart of Paris, was postponed until Monday due to rain overnight, organisers said.

The spectre of disruption also loomed over the opening rounds of tennis at Roland Garros, where only two of the 12 courts have roofs.

Torrential rain had lashed participants and spectators in Friday’s amphibious opening ceremony, where around 7,000 athletes paraded along the Seine in an armada of boats before a show-stopping finale which climaxed with a glittering light show at the Eiffel Tower and a performance from singer Celine Dion.

The ceremony received broadly favourable reviews, with France’s centre-right Le Figaro daily describing it as “full of surprises but often disjointed.”