GUANGZHOU, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Rising star Wang Zifei of Zhejiang staged a late comeback to overtake teammate Han Jiayu in the final rounds of the women's 50m rifle three positions on Thursday, capturing her second title this week at China's 15th National Games.
The 18-year-old, a triple World Cup winner in the 10m air rifle this season, surged from seventh place to first in the final standing stage, sealing victory with 462.9 points. Han, who led for much of the match, settled for silver with 462.6, while Beijing's Li Ya'nan earned bronze with 450.0, winning her team's first shooting medal at these Games.
Earlier in the week, Wang teamed up with Han and Olympic champion Huang Yuting to win the women's 10m air rifle team gold, following Han's triumph in the individual event.
Han, the top qualifier with 594 points, led from the start of Thursday's final. She held a 0.1-point advantage over Sichuan's Pang Yuqian after the kneeling position and extended it to 1.1 points after prone shots, as Li climbed into second. But Wang produced a brilliant standing series to catch Han at 432.7 points with three shots remaining, capitalizing on her teammate's consecutive sub-10s to secure the title.
"Although today's result was a bit beyond my expectations, it was still within the range of what I believed I could achieve," Wang said. "My standing position has always been one of my strengths."
Taking two golds on her National Games debut, Wang remained modest about her success. "This was something I didn't really expect," she added. "For me, this competition was more about gaining experience. It's my first time competing at the National Games, and I just hope to keep getting better in the future."
Wang's victory further strengthened Zhejiang's dominance in shooting, with the province now winning three golds and two silvers from 12 completed events.
In the men's 10m air pistol team final, six-time World Cup gold medalist Hu Kai bounced back from missing the individual podium on Wednesday, leading Anhui to a 16-6 victory over Hebei.
"For me, yesterday is yesterday and today is today," said the 23-year-old defending champion. "Every bit of effort we make each day is for tomorrow. Compared with who I was yesterday, I've already succeeded today."
In the bronze medal match, Jilin survived a late scare to edge a Guizhou side led by Olympic champion Xie Yu 16-10. Jilin had led 14-2 but needed several extra series to finally close out the win.
Elsewhere, Tang Xiao of Guangxi claimed a surprise victory in the women's 10m air pistol final with 240.3 points, finishing 1.7 ahead of Ruan Mengying of Hubei. Shanghai's Olympic gold medalist Jiang Ranxin took bronze.
The National Games shooting competition continues Friday with the women's 10m air pistol team final and the men's 50m rifle three positions final. ■
