Day 7 Paralympics: China wins 8 more golds with 5 in athletics to remain atop medal standings

TOKYO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's Paralympians on Tuesday won eight more gold medals at the Tokyo 2020, keeping the country atop the medal standings with 62 gold and 132 medals in total.

Britain remains in second place with 80 medals out of which 29 are golds and the Russian Paralympic Committee stands at the third with 25 golds and 74 in total.

Various sports of athletics have been the greatest contributor of China's gold-winning on Tuesday with several athletes breaking world records. China's veteran Zhang Liangmin won her third Paralympic gold medal in the women's discus throw F11 final with a new world record of 40.83m, refreshing both the world and the Paralympic records set by herself.

"I'm really happy to be champion again ... Training laid the foundation. The support of my friends and coach helped me win gold," she said.

In the women's shot put F34, Zou Lijuan pocketed the gold with 9.19m, refreshing her own world record of 8.82m while Liu Li set a new world record of 12.97m in the men's shot put F32, breaking his own world record of 12.05m set in 2019.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhaoqian won the gold in the women's 1500m T54 and Jiang Fenfen became the champion in the women's 400m T37.

In the archery range, China's He Zihao won his second gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the men's individual compound - open, beating his Iranian rival Ramezan Biabani 147-143 in the final. The Chinese athlete also set a new Paralympic record of 148 points on his way to the final while his teammate Ai Xinliang bagged the bronze.

In the sport of shooting, China's defending champion Yang Chao claimed the gold medal though fierce competition with compatriot Huang Xing who won the silver in the men's 10m air pistol P1-SH1.

"I had some bad shots, and dropped from first to second. But I believed a miracle would happen, so I persevered until the last shot and tried to do that well," Yang said.

During the first day of road cycling event, China's Chen Jianxin won his first Paralympic gold medal in the men's T1-2 time trial while Sun Bianbian pocketed the silver in the women's H4-5 time trial.

In 5-a-side football, China managed to secure a much-needed victory to progress from their group to the semifinal, beating Japan 2-0.