Day 5 Paralympic: China adds 16 golds, remains atop medal count

TOKYO, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's Paralympians continued their gold rush at Tokyo 2020, pocketing 16 more golds on Sunday and keeping the country atop the medal standings with 46 golds and 104 medals in total.

Britain sit second in the medal table with 23 golds, with the United States third with 15 golds, as competitions in the swimming pool took center stage on Sunday.

In a re-swim of the women's 50m freestyle S11 swimming final on Sunday night, China's Ma Jia took gold and set a new world record of 29.20 seconds. Compatriot Li Guizhi took silver, while Cypriot swimmer Karolina Pelendritou claimed bronze.

"We were a little surprised that night when we were told of a re-swim," said Ma. "But I don't think there was a lot of pressure. It's just another race, just put your all into it."

The re-swim came after a statement by International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence, who said that there had been an appeal after Friday's race, during which "the Chinese athlete in lane five [Li Guizhi] and the Dutch athlete in lane six [Liesette Bruinsma] unintentionally came into contact with each other."

Following a review by the jury of appeal, it was decided that the race should be re-swum, Spence said Saturday at a press conference.

On the tennis court, Chinese athletes pocketed five of the eight golds up for grabs on Sunday.

During the women's singles class 8 table tennis final, China's Mao Jingdian won 3-1 against her teammate Huang Wenjuan, dominating the event for nine years with her third straight gold medals.

"Playing table tennis has been part of my life. Even after so many years, every day that I train and compete is an enjoyment," said Mao, 26, who took up the sport at age five.

In the women's 200m T35 final, Chinese sprinter Zhou Xia backed up her 100m victory by winning gold in a world record time of 27.17 seconds. Australia's Isis Holt finished second, 0.77 seconds shy of the title, while Maria Lyle of Britain bagged bronze.