Rio: Vietnam gets its first ever gold medal in Olympics

Rio De Janeiro: Hoang Xuan Vinh, the 41-year-old Vietnamese athlete clinched the first ever gold medal for his country in the 10 meter air pistol event.

Hoang Xuan Vinh is a colonel ranked officer in the Vietnamese Army.

Vietnam had previously won two silver medals in past Olympic games.

Vinh's stood first on the podium by shunting hunted Brazil's Felipe Almeida Wu and China's Pang Wei into second and third place respectively.

Vinh reportedly learned how to shoot in the army after joining in 1991.

He initially practised on AK47 rifles.

He would receive $131,000 from the Vietnam government on his return, according to international media.

The average annual income in Vietnam is around $2,760.

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