At the Munich stage of the ISSF World Cup, the Chinese mainland’s mixed teams dazzled fans with gold and silver medals in air pistol and air rifle events.
In the mixed 10m air pistol final, Hu Kai and Yao Qianxun stormed to a dominant start, racing to an 8-0 lead and fending off challenges to seal victory at 16-4 over Armenia’s Elmira Karapetyan and Benik Khlghatyan. This triumph marked Hu’s fourth World Cup gold and Yao’s second mixed team medal after bronze in her individual event.
The mixed 10m air rifle final saw a thrilling showdown as world record holders Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao set a new qualification record of 635.9 points. Despite their top-seed performance, they were edged out 17-7 by India’s Arya Borse and Arjun Babuta, who fired a string of high 10s to clinch gold. Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg captured bronze.
Wang, just 18, had already dominated the women’s 10m air rifle this week, setting junior and overall world records on her way to gold. Sheng also added to his individual bronze from Thursday, highlighting their consistency on the World Cup circuit.
With these podium finishes, the Chinese mainland topped the medal table in Munich with four golds, one silver and two bronzes. Norway followed with two golds, one silver and one bronze, while India secured two golds and two bronzes.
Next up is the rifle and pistol World Cup leg in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, running from September 7 to 15—another chance for rising stars and seasoned shooters to shine on the global stage.
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China capture gold and silver in mixed team events at ISSF World Cup
cgtn.com
