GUANGZHOU, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Han Jiayu of Zhejiang captured the gold medal with a thrilling comeback in the women's 10m air rifle final at China's 15th National Games on Monday, edging out Jiangsu's Yan Jinjing with a decisive final shot.
"I think I was fairly steady overall, consistent with how I've been training recently," Han said after the victory. "There were some small fluctuations, but in the end, I managed to stay focused and seize the key moments. Toward the end, I just told myself to take it one shot at a time, to do each shot as well as I could, and make the most of every opportunity. That mindset helped me finish strong."
The top eight shooters from qualification advanced to the individual final, while team rankings were determined by the combined scores of three athletes. The top two teams advanced to the gold-medal match, with the third and fourth competing for bronze.
Zhejiang, featuring Olympic champion Huang Yuting, 2023 world champion Han, and world record holder Wang Zifei, dominated qualification with a combined 1,903.6 points, 1.6 higher than China's previous record set at the Asian Championships in August.
All three Zhejiang shooters reached the individual final, with Han placing third, Huang fourth, and Wang fifth. Hubei's Liu Yafei led qualification with 635.5 points, while Shandong's debutante Yu Jiaxin narrowly made the cut at 633.9, which surpassed the highest World Cup qualifying threshold of 633.6 this season.
The final was filled with surprises. Huang was the first to exit, and Wang's two 9.9s proved costly as she finished fifth. Liu and Hunan's world record holder Peng Xinlu were next to be eliminated.
Han, the last remaining Zhejiang shooter, overtook Liaoning's 15-year-old prodigy Du Yuchen - who had claimed mixed team gold on Sunday - to reach the final duel. Trailing Yan by 0.1 point before the last shot, Han kept her composure and delivered a 10.6, surpassing Yan's 9.8 to secure the title with 252.7 points.
The victory marked Han's first individual National Games gold, adding to the team title she helped Zhejiang win at the Shaanxi Games in 2021.
"It feels like a kind of growth," she said. "Back then, I was part of a team and learned a lot from that experience. Step by step, I've absorbed those lessons and turned them into my own performance. It's been a process of constant accumulation and improvement."
Despite narrowly missing the gold, Yan was pleased to claim silver in her second National Games appearance.
"I'm quite satisfied," said Yan, who finished fifth four years ago. "I think I showed the level I usually have in training. The biggest change is my mentality: before, I focused too much on the score and ignored how I felt at the moment. Over the past four years, I've learned to focus on adjusting my mindset and maintaining the right mental balance."
In the men's 25m rapid fire pistol final, which Olympic champion Li Yuehong failed to qualify for, Su Lianbofan of Fujian prevailed after shoot-off, defeating Shaanxi's He Shiyu for the gold with 35 hits.
"I was really nervous at that moment. My hands and legs were shaking," Su recalled. "But I kept telling myself not to overthink it, just to find the same feeling I have when I make five hits in training. In the final series, I stayed firm and executed with confidence."
Wang Shiwen of Jiangxi took bronze with 27 hits, despite suffering a second technical malfunction that cost him an entire series.
"I'm happy to win a medal," Wang said. "There's a tiny bit of regret, but overall it was a valuable experience. My goal was to reach the podium - if it could be higher, great, but third place is already something to be proud of."
Wang admitted the malfunction affected him "a little bit," but said he refused to lose focus.
"I kept telling myself that even if there are difficulties, I can't give up. I had to keep believing in myself, stay focused, and stick to my plan all the way through," he said. "No matter what place I ended up in, I wanted to finish every series according to my own standards."
Competition continues Tuesday with the men's 25m rapid fire pistol and women's 10m air rifle team finals, as well as the men's 10m air rifle individual final.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Editor:Cai Xiaohui
