EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD Chinese shooter Sheng Lihao clinched the gold medal with a new world record with 253.3 points in the men’s 10m air rifle at the Hangzhou Asian Games yesterday. On the range, the Tokyo Olympic Games silver medalist showcased his stability and speed, firing 60 shots in just half the allotted time. He ranked first in the qualification round with 634.5 points. His teammate, Du Linshu, advanced to the final in seventh place. During the first round of the final, after the first five shots, South Korean athlete Park Ha-jun took the lead with 53.4 points. Sheng trailed by 1.2 points, creating a tense moment for Chinese fans. However, after the 10th shot, Sheng reclaimed the lead with 105.3 points, edging out Park by 0.4 points. He maintained this lead until the end. Park secured the silver medal with 251.3, while India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar took home bronze with 228.8. Another Chinese competitor, Du, finished in eighth place. “I did not think about breaking the record today,” Sheng said with a smile. In the team event, the Chinese team also set a new mark in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol with 1765. India claimed the men’s 10m air rifle title with a world record in 1,893.7 points. South Korea took silver with 1,890.1, and the team of Sheng, Du, and Yu Haonan earned bronze for China with 1,888.2. Meanwhile, Olympic champion swimmers Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun secured dominant victories Sunday, propelling China to claim 20 out of 31 gold medals on the inaugural full competition day of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Chinese swimmers showcased their dominance, sweeping all seven gold medals available. Zhang, who is set to compete in seven events in Hangzhou, successfully defended her 200m butterfly title, finishing ahead of teammate Yu Liyan with a new Games record of 2 minutes and 05.57 seconds. Wang Shun’s victory in the men’s 200m individual medley was further highlighted by his setting of a new Asian record. Wang maintained a lead throughout and finished first in one minute and 54.62 seconds. Qin Haiyang, China’s breaststroke specialist who clinched three golds at the Fukuoka worlds in July, secured second place with a time of 1:57.41. Japan’s Daiya Seto finished third in 1:58.35. Another new Asian record was established in the men’s 100m freestyle, with Pan Zhanle registering a time of 46.97 seconds, improving his previous record by 0.46 seconds. Chinese Wushu athletes also dominated the day’s events, with Sun Peiyuan and Tong Xin securing gold in the men’s Changquan and women’s Taiji all-round, respectively. (Xinhua) | 