China wins first gold as rain dampens Olympics after dazzling ceremony

China won the opening gold of the Paris Olympics on Saturday, as the rain that dampened the opening ceremony took its toll on the first full day of sporting action.

In a closely fought final of the mixed-team 10-meter air rifle, teenage duo Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting produced the goods. More glory soon followed for Team China as the all-conquering divers Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen were crowned Olympic champions in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard.

Chang and Chen have been unbeatable in global diving events in recent years, winning gold at three straight world championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen won bronze.

It means Chang and Chen's victory launched China's bid for a potential sweep of Olympic diving golds. Chinese divers won seven out of eight gold medals in Tokyo three years ago.

There was an early sporting casualty on Saturday as the wet weather which deluged Friday night's audacious festival on the River Seine continued to cause headaches. The men's street skateboarding, due to take place at the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris, was postponed until Monday.

The downpours also disrupted play at the opening rounds of tennis at Roland Garros, with no action on the 10 uncovered outside courts in the morning.

Torrential rain had lashed participants and spectators in Friday's amphibious opening ceremony, where 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 favorable reviews, with France's center-right Le Figaro daily describing it as "full of surprises but often disjointed."

The International Olympic Committee however was forced to apologize for a gaffe during the ceremony when South Korea's athletes were incorrectly introduced as competitors from the DPRK. 

Elsewhere on the sporting front, swimming, badminton, rowing, cycling, hockey and basketball will get under way, along with the surfing competition, nearly 16,000 kilometers away on the French Pacific island of Tahiti.

There was some positive news for organizers with the announcement that traffic on France's high-speed rail network would be back to normal by Monday.

This followed the sabotaging of signal stations and cables on Friday that caused travel chaos. French rail operator SNCF reiterated that transport plans for teams competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics would be guaranteed.

Friday's pre-dawn attacks on the high-speed rail network damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. 

Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled, SNCF has said.

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