NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- World records in shooting are falling fast at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but that does not mean they are easy to break.
Two more records fell on Tuesday in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, with China's Sheng Lihao and Wang Zifei raising the qualification mark by 2.0 points before improving the final record by another 0.4 points.
That brought the number of shooting world records broken at the Games to four in just three days. On the opening day, Wang, Han Jiayu and Du Yuchen improved the women's 10m air rifle team record by 2.2 points. A day later, Sheng, Zhang Changhong and Ma Sihan set a new men's team record.
So what is behind the seemingly relentless succession of records?
The first thing to note is just how high the performance level already is.
In the 180-shot air rifle team events, in which three athletes fire 60 shots each, China's women averaged nearly 10.58 points per shot, while the men averaged 10.55. In mixed team qualification, Sheng and Wang averaged nearly 10.65 over 60 shots, and their average remained above 10.56 in the 48-shot final.
Those numbers leave little room for error. In 10m air rifle, the 10-point ring is only about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. The challenge has also become greater in some respects this season after the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) tightened testing tolerances for shooting jackets, trousers and shoes to reduce external support. The changes place greater emphasis on technique and physical stability.
In other words, the new records are not being produced because the sport has suddenly become easier. They are being set at an exceptionally high level of performance.
There is, however, another side to the story: some of the records themselves are relatively new.
The 10m air rifle mixed team event, for example, became an Olympic medal event only at the Tokyo Games five years ago. Since then, its competition format has changed significantly. The event has moved from head-to-head medal matches based on reaching 16 points to a four-team final in which cumulative scores determine the results.
When rules and formats change, the record book effectively starts a new chapter. That can make recently established records more vulnerable as athletes adapt and performance benchmarks continue to rise.
The mixed team event is not the only example. Changes to qualification scoring in 10m air rifle, the number of shots in the 50m rifle three positions final, and the expansion of the rapid fire pistol final from six shooters to eight have all altered the competitive landscape in recent years.
"Rules have changed quite often in recent years," said China rifle coach Yao Ye. "When the rules change, the records are reset. Early records are usually not that high, so it can look as if records are constantly being broken. The main reason is the rule changes."
The strength of Asian shooting is another part of the explanation.
Asia has become one of the strongest regions in the sport, making the Asian Games a stage where many of the world's leading athletes compete against one another. In women's 10m air rifle, for example, seven of the world's top 10 athletes are from Asia.
When elite athletes are brought together in the same competition, the intensity itself can create conditions for records to fall.
The four records broken in three days also highlight the depth of China's shooting team, with a new generation of shooters already playing a central role at the Games.
Sheng, 21, has won three gold medals and been involved in setting three world records. Wang, 19, is ranked world No. 1 in women's 10m air rifle and has contributed to two world records. Young teammates including Ma Sihan, 18, and Du Yuchen, 16, have also delivered strong performances and played their part in China's record-breaking team results.
The succession of records therefore tells two stories at once. It reflects how demanding the sport has become, but also how quickly standards can rise when events are relatively young, rules continue to evolve and a deep pool of elite athletes competes at the same time.
In elite sport, the limits are never entirely fixed. Even with the bar already set extraordinarily high, there are signs that the ceiling in air rifle may still be rising. Ten-shot series of more than 107 points are becoming increasingly common, suggesting that today's record performances may not yet represent the outer limits of what is possible. ■
