HANGZHOU, July 22 (Xinhua) -- China's reigning world champions Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai broke world records in both qualification and final to win 10m air pistol mixed team as the ISSF World Cup started here on Wednesday.
Having set a new qualification mark of 591 points ealier on Wednesday, the duo scored 488.4 points in the final, surpassing the previous world record of 487.7 set by India's Palak Palak and Mukesh Nelavalli in April.
"We didn't expect it at all; actually we didn't notice our results throughout the match," Yao said, crediting their victory to Hu. "We had a good performance today, especially my partner."
Their compatriots Shen Yiyao and Bu Shuaihang, who will represent China in the mixed team event at the upcoming 20th Asian Games, added a silver with 485.7 points in what was the tournament's first medal event.
"We are glad to win a silver and I feel we are getting better and better as a pair," said Shen.
Yao and Hu had won one gold and one silver at the two World Cup legs held earlier this year under a revised format that allows four teams, rather than two, to advance to the final.
The pair topped qualification with 591 points, two ahead of Shen and Bu. South Korea's Kim Bo-mi and Hong Su-hyeon were six points further back in third, while Individual Neutral Athletes Angelina Ostashova and Anton Aristarkhov finished fourth.
The final standings mirrored the qualification order, with the AIN pair eliminated first, followed by the South Korean duo, who secured the bronze medal with 418.9 points. At that stage, Yao and Hu had overtaken early leaders Shen and Bu by 1.5 points, and they held their nerve in the closing stages to claim the title and set a world record.
The men's 10-meter air rifle final will take place later Wednesday. ■
