Hangzhou (China), July 22 (IANS) China’s Olympic champions Sheng Lihao and Zhang Changhong secured a one-two finish in the men’s 10-meter air rifle final as the ISSF World Cup opened in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
Sheng, a two-time gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, topped qualification with 637.5 points before carrying that form into the final. The 21-year-old led from the opening series and was never seriously challenged, finishing with 253.9 points to claim his 12th ISSF World Cup title.
The victory was Sheng’s first World Cup gold medal on home soil. “This is a historic title for me. Competing at home made me feel very comfortable and at ease,” he said.
Zhang, the Tokyo Olympic champion in the men’s 50-metre rifle three positions, arrived in Hangzhou after winning gold at the previous World Cup stop. After narrowly advancing to the eight-man final, he delivered a composed performance to take silver with 252.4 points, reports Xinhua.
“Overall, I think I performed quite well. My qualification performance was a little below par today, and I didn’t compete at the level I’m capable of,” Zhang said.
Sweden’s Victor Lindgren denied China a podium sweep by edging Ma Sihan for bronze by 0.2 points.
Earlier on Wednesday, China’s reigning world champions Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai set world records in both qualification and the final to win the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event.
After setting a new qualification record of 591 points earlier in the day, the duo scored 488.4 points in the final, surpassing the previous world record of 487.7 set by India’s Palak Palak and Mukesh Nelavalli in April.
The Hangzhou World Cup runs through July 28. The women’s 50-meter rifle three positions and the men’s and women’s skeet titles will be contested on Thursday.
Yao/Hu break world record to win 10m air pistol mixed team gold
Earlier, China’s reigning world champions Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai broke world records in both qualification and final to win 10m air pistol mixed team as the ISSF World Cup started here on Wednesday.
Having set a new qualification mark of 591 points earlier on Wednesday, the duo scored 488.4 points in the final, surpassing the previous world record of 487.7 set by India’s Palak Palak and Mukesh Nelavalli in April.
“We didn’t expect it at all; actually we didn’t notice our results throughout the match,” Yao said, crediting their victory to Hu. “We had a good performance today, especially my partner.”
Their compatriots Shen Yiyao and Bu Shuaihang, who will represent China in the mixed team event at the upcoming 20th Asian Games, added a silver with 485.7 points in what was the tournament’s first medal event.
“We are glad to win a silver, and I feel we are getting better and better as a pair,” said Shen.
Yao and Hu had won one gold and one silver at the two World Cup legs held earlier this year under a revised format that allows four teams, rather than two, to advance to the final.
The pair topped qualification with 591 points, two ahead of Shen and Bu. South Korea’s Kim Bo-mi and Hong Su-hyeon were six points further back in third, while Individual Neutral Athletes Angelina Ostashova and Anton Aristarkhov finished fourth.
The final standings mirrored the qualification order, with the AIN pair eliminated first, followed by the South Korean duo, who secured the bronze medal with 418.9 points. At that stage, Yao and Hu had overtaken early leaders Shen and Bu by 1.5 points, and they held their nerve in the closing stages to claim the title and set a world record.
–IANS
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