Du Yuchen (L), Han Jiayu (C) and Wang Zifei of team China pose for a group photo during the awarding ceremony of the 10m air rifle women team final of shooting at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Toyota of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Sept. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
TOYOTA, Japan, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China claimed the women's 10m air rifle team title with a new world record at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday.
Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu and Du Yuchen all delivered strong performances in an event in which China has traditionally been strong, with each scoring more than 633 points.
The trio combined for 1,904.2 points to take the gold medal, breaking the previous world record of 1,902.0.
The women's 10m air rifle field is particularly competitive in Asia, with seven of the world's top 10 shooters coming from the continent. China, South Korea, India and Japan all fielded strong lineups at the Asian Games.
In the qualification stage, China's Wang Zifei maintained steady form throughout, consistently posting high scores to top the qualification standings with 636.8 points, just 1.1 points short of her own qualification world record in the event. Han scored 633.8 points, while young shooter Du Yuchen, competing in the second group, registered 633.6. Han and Du finished fifth and sixth respectively in qualification.
The team standings were determined by the combined qualification scores of each team's three shooters. China totaled 1,904.2 points to win gold and set a new world record, while India took silver with 1,898.0 and Japan bronze with 1,897.1.
All three Chinese shooters finished in the top eight in qualification, but with each team allowed a maximum of two places in the final, Du missed out by a narrow margin.
The Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya marked 16-year-old Du's first appearance at the continental event. Despite missing out on the individual final, she was "very excited" to have helped China win the gold and break the world record.
"This has given me valuable experience in major competitions. Having competed at a multi-sport event like the Asian Games, I feel more prepared for future events such as the Olympics," Du said.
In the final, Japan's Taichi Hinata won the individual gold with 253.0 points, while India's Elavenil Valarivan and South Korea's Ban Hyo-jin took silver and bronze respectively. Wang and Han finished fifth and seventh respectively. ■
Gold medalists Team China (C), silver medalists Team India (L) and bronze medalists Team Japan pose during the awarding ceremony of the 10m air rifle women team final of shooting at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Toyota of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Sept. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
Du Yuchen (L), Han Jiayu (C) and Wang Zifei of team China gesture during the awarding ceremony of the 10m air rifle women team final of shooting at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Toyota of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Sept. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
