MADRID, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shooters delivered a strong performance on the third day of the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain, as Sheng Lihao and Xiao Jiaruixuan won the men's 10-meter air rifle and women's 25-meter pistol titles respectively on Thursday.
Double Olympic champion Sheng, fresh from winning mixed team gold Tuesday, opened strongly with two 10.8 shots and never looked back, sealing victory with 253.9 points. He finished 0.9 points ahead of Serbia's Aleksa Rakonjac, who won his first World Cup medal. Sweden's Olympic silver medalist Victor Lindgren took bronze with 230.9 points, earning his first medal at a senior World Cup.
The victory marked Sheng's 15th World Cup medal and 10th gold, and the 21-year-old said he continues to enjoy the challenge. "I really enjoy competing with the top shooters from the world and vying with them technically," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Xiao won her first World Cup title after edging teammate Kong Jieru through two rounds of shootoffs in the women's 25-meter pistol final.
Xiao, who topped qualification with 590 points, took the lead after the second series and was not caught until the final series, when 18-year-old Kong drew level at 39 hits. Both shooters hit five out of five in the first shootoff, but Xiao prevailed 4-3 in the second. France's Olympic silver medalist Camille Jedrzejewski took bronze.
"I feel very happy and excited," said Xiao, who went on to express hope to "win more and more titles this year" in the Year of the Horse, her zodiac year.
The World Cup will continue Friday with the women's 50-meter rifle 3 positions title up for grabs. ■
