At the 15th National Games of the Chinese mainland in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, young sharpshooter Tang Xiao delivered a career-defining performance. Representing the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, she clinched gold in the women's 10-meter air pistol final with a total of 240.3 points.
The competition kicked off with two rounds of five shots each, after which the lowest-ranked athlete was eliminated every two shots. Hubei’s Ruan Mengying initially led the leaderboard, closely followed by Guizhou’s Qian Wei and Shanghai’s Tokyo Olympics mixed team champion Jiang Ranxin.
When the elimination stage began, Qian, Jiang and Ruan each fired one off-target shot, opening the door for Tang. Staying calm under pressure, she seized the moment—her 9.6-point final shot secured gold and marked a personal best at her first National Games. Ruan settled for silver, while Jiang took bronze.
"Actually, we all did not perform well during the competition," Tang reflected. "I was very lucky. I did not think too much. I took some deep breaths on the field to overcome my distracting thoughts. But I took the shots decisively. This is the best final in all my years of competing. And I did not make big mistakes."
Elsewhere in the shooting hall, Zhejiang’s Wang Zifei staged a thrilling comeback in the women's 50-meter rifle three positions final. The 18-year-old World Cup standout surged from seventh to first, sealing victory with 462.9 points—just 0.3 points ahead of teammate Han Jiayu.
In the men's 10-meter air pistol team event, six-time World Cup winner Hu Kai led Anhui to a commanding 16-6 win over Hebei. Jilin edged Guizhou 16-10 to claim bronze, with Olympic champion Xie Yu spearheading Guizhou’s challenge until the final shot.
These results highlight the rising talent across the Chinese mainland’s shooting scene and set the stage for more intense showdowns as the National Games continue.
Reference(s):
Guangxi's Tang Xiao wins women's 10m air pistol gold at National Games
cgtn.com
