China secured 23 gold medals Wednesday, the fourth full day of competition, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, bringing their gold medal count to 76. Indian
Zhang Yufei of China competes in the women's 100m butterfly final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sept. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
Samra's achievement marked the fourth world record broken on the shooting range in Hangzhou, following three earlier records set on Monday. The previous world record of 467.0 points had been established by British athlete Seonaid McIntosh just four months ago at the ISSF World Cup.
Samra, who had qualified in second place, had a strong start in the final, earning 154.6 points in the kneeling phase, surpassing local star Zhang Qiongyue by 0.1 points. In the prone stage, Samra continued to excel, accumulating 157.9 points, resulting in a total of 312.5 points. The 22-year-old shooter maintained her exceptional performance in the standing phase, ultimately breaking the world record on her way to victory.
Zhang finished second with 462.3 points, while Samra's teammate Ashi Chouksey claimed the bronze.
Sift Kaur Samra of India competes in the women's 50m rifle three positions final. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
Samra expressed her delight, saying, "It feels very good. It's a very rare and valuable opportunity, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of it."
Apart from Samra's new record, the shooting range also witnessed China winning four out of eight gold medals available on Wednesday. In the team event of the women's 50 rifle three positions, China scored 1,773 points, just one point shy of the current world record. Liu Rui of China secured gold in the women's 25m pistol with 38 hits, while teenage shooter Jiang Yiting of China claimed the individual gold in the women's skeet with 57 hits out of 60 targets. China also won gold in the men's skeet team event.
Cui Chenxi, a 13-year-old, became China's youngest-ever Asian Games champion in women's street skateboarding, while Zhang Jie and Su Jianjun won gold and bronze respectively in the men's street event.
Olympic champion Zhang Yufei clinched the women's 100m butterfly gold with a Games' record time of 55.86 seconds. Zhang expressed her determination to break the world record, saying, "I will never change my goal. Without the ambition of breaking the world record, I will not have the motivation for the Paris Olympics and other major events in the future."
Zhang also played a pivotal role in the mixed 4x100m medley relay victory and had already secured four gold medals. Xu Jiayu, another member of the relay team of China, also boasted four gold medals.
In women's beach volleyball, Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi defeated Miki Ishii and Sayaka Mizoe of Japan 2-0, securing China's sixth consecutive women's beach volleyball title. This streak has been ongoing since the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
In gymnastics, Zuo Tong of China claimed the women's all-around title with a score of 53.565 points, following her compatriot Zhang Boheng's victory in the men's event.
In judo, Japan won back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in the mixed team event by defeating Uzbekistan 4-0. Japan had collected five gold medals already in judo, while China secured one gold, two silvers, and three bronzes.
Track cycling saw Japan excel, winning all three gold medals on offer for the day.
South Korea successfully defended their men's foil team title with a comeback win over China, and their women fencers narrowly secured the epee team gold. South Korea currently stands in second place on the medal table with 70 medals, including 19 golds, while Japan has earned 66 medals (15 golds).
In other action on Wednesday, China women's basketball team began their title defense with a commanding 101-46 victory over Mongolia, and in men's football, Tao Qianglong scored the only goal in China's win over Qatar, sending the home side to last eight.
