NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China claimed both the men's 10m air rifle individual and team gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, setting a world record in the team event.
Zhang Changhong, Sheng Lihao and Ma Sihan all produced steady performances in qualification, with each finishing in the top eight.
The trio combined for 1,899.0 points to take team gold, breaking the previous world record of 1,898.4. India won silver with 1,890.1 points, while South Korea claimed bronze with 1,884.2.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games marked 18-year-old Ma's first appearance at the continental event. With both of his teammates Olympic champions, Ma said he had learned a lot from them during preparations for the Games.
"I feel like I have two great teammates to lean on, so I wasn't that nervous," Ma said.
In the individual final, Sheng was locked in a close battle with India's Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and Himanshu Dhillon. Patil scored 106.0 points after the first 10 shots to lead Sheng by 1.1 points.
In the elimination stage, Sheng remained consistent, with only one shot below 10.5. Patil and Dhillon, meanwhile, registered lows of 9.8 and 9.7 respectively, and Sheng eventually won by 1.8 points.
Sheng took individual gold with 254.2 points, improving his own Asian and Asian Games records and finishing just 0.8 points short of the world record. Dhillon took silver with 252.4 points, while Patil claimed bronze with 230.9. Ma finished fifth.
The two titles on Monday took Sheng's Asian Games gold-medal tally to four. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, he won gold in the men's 10m air rifle individual and mixed team events. ■
