WRAPUP 2-Olympics-China goes for gold after dazzling opener

* China hopes to cap opening fireworks with shooting gold

* Phelps to swim in the Water Cube

* Anti-doping campaign claims another athlete from Greece

* Protesters pounced on by watchful police

By Simon Denyer

BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China is hoping for early Olympic gold to cap a dazzling opening ceremony as the first full day of competition got under way on Saturday.

Beijing is determined to stage an awe-inspiring Games that will underline its status as a new superpower, and would love to overtake the United States at the top of the medals table.

It wowed the world in a breathtaking opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium on Friday and has a great chance of winning the first gold at the Games with Du Li in the 10-metre air rifle.

Seven golds are up for grabs on Saturday.

But the attention of many fans will be on American swimmer Michael Phelps, the lanky 23-year-old with a handlebar moustache aiming for an unprecedented eight golds.

He plunges into the shimmering new Water Cube aquatics centre for his heat in the 400 metres individual medley in the evening: the first of 17 starts in nine days as he tries to better Mark Spitz's record seven golds in 1972.

"I'm here having fun," said Phelps, who lowered the 400 metres medley world record for the seventh time in June but had fellow American Ryan Lochte less than a second behind.

A campaign to stamp out the use of performance-enhancing drugs claimed another victim, a Greek sprinter being sent home from the team for failing a earlier doping test, in an uncanny reminder of Athens in 2004.

Then two Greek sprinters, both major medals hope, were involved in a doping scandal that overshadowed the start of the Games. This time another sprinter, Tassos Gousis, is being sent home, Greek media reported.

Olympic chief Jacques Rogge used his speech at the opening ceremony to appeal to the better nature of the 10,500 athletes from 204 countries taking part in the Games, reminding them they were "role models for the youth of the world".

In case that doesn't work, he has also introduced tougher tests.