Old heads, new faces light up Games

Record breakers

The intensity of the Games was further highlighted by the shattering of eight world records, 13 Asian records, and 14 national records, as reported by the General Administration of Sport of China.

One of the most electrifying moments came from weightlifter Liao Guifang, who lifted 158kg in the women's 76kg clean and jerk, surpassing the previous world record held by Chinese lifter Zhang Wangli.

"My goal is definitely the Los Angeles Olympics," Liao said, noting that, with the weight class set to change from 76kg to 77kg for LA28, "the adjusted category will suit me even better."

In shooting, a remarkable 10 performances across five events set new world records. Paris Olympic champion Liu Yukun won the men's 50m rifle 3 positions gold with a score of 470.1, decisively breaking his own world record of 468.9 set in 2024 and setting a new national record.

"I'm very happy to have surpassed my own record, but compared to my training level, this was just a standard performance," said Liu, revealing he had previously shot 474.0 in training.

Meanwhile, Zhejiang's Wang Zifei, Huang Yuting, and Han Jiayu set a new national record with a combined score of 1903.6 in the women's 10m air rifle team qualification, a score that also surpassed the previous world record set by the Chinese team at the Asian Shooting Championships in Kazakhstan this August by 1.6 points.

Despite shooting being a sport known for the career longevity of its athletes, a youth movement was evident at the Games. The average age in the women's 10m air rifle was just 19.1 years, while the average in men's 50m rifle 3 positions was only around 25.

The Anhui provincial team clinched the gold in the men's 10m air pistol team event, with one of its team members, 14-year-old Liu Ziyang, becoming the Games' youngest shooting champion.