Wei, a finalist in the event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, hit 54 targets to take gold at the Larnaca Olympic Shooting Range.

The American shooter, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, was expected to top the podium but was forced to settle for silver on 52 hits in Cyprus.

The 37-year-old could not quite match the performance of Wei who missed just six targets out of a possible 60.

Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit of Thailand, Asian champion in 2010, did enough for the bronze medal as she ended the event on 41 hits.

Italian duo Simona Scocchetti and Chiara Cainero finished in fourth and fifth respectively.

Scocchetti scored 30 hits, while Cainero was eight adrift of her team-mate on 22.

Wei's triumph also guaranteed her a place at the season-ending World Cup final in New Delhi, scheduled to be held from October 23 to 30.

The Chinese shooter qualified with a total of 71 but had to get through two shoot-offs to secure her spot in the final.

Her previous best performances on the ISSF World Cup circuit came when she clinched silver in Tucson in the United States in 2014 and bronze in Acapulco the following year.

Wei has twice earned silver at the World Cup final and she will be hoping to go one better in the Indian capital later this year.

A total of 429 shooters, representing 61 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are set to compete in Larnaca.

The men's skeet final is due to be held tomorrow, before shooters are given a rest day on Tuesday (May 2).

Action resumes on Wednesday (May 3) with the double trap men's event.

The trap women's competition is set to be held on Friday (May 6), with the regular Shotgun World Cup season concluded the following day with the men's trap final.