China sets two world records to win 10m air rifle mixed team gold

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China claimed the 10m air rifle mixed team title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday, with Wang Zifei and Paris Olympic champion Sheng Lihao setting world records in both qualification and the final.

19-year-old Wang and Sheng topped qualification with 638.9 points, improving the previous world record by 2.0 points to advance to the final in first place.

China led from the opening stage of the final. In the elimination stage, Wang and Sheng remained in first place with 379.5 points, 1.3 ahead of Japan, as India became the first team eliminated.

In the next three-shot series, Wang and Sheng combined for 64.1 points to extend their lead to 3.5 points, with Japan eliminated in third place.

China pulled away in the final three-shot series and finished with 507.1 points to take gold, 4.2 ahead of second-placed South Korea. The score improved the previous world record by 0.4 points, while Japan took bronze with 439.7.

Wang briefly dropped to 9.4 and 9.9 during the final, but quickly regained her rhythm to help secure the gold.

"Mistakes may happen in a match. I just tried to refocus, get back into my normal rhythm and shoot at the level I do in training," Wang said.

It was Sheng's third gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, following his triumphs in the men's 10m air rifle team and individual events. He also set world records in both team events.

"I didn't expect to shoot that well. The score was much higher than what I usually get in training, so I think I was a little lucky too," he said.