Day 3 Roundup: Chinese paddlers clinch team titles, young shooters continue momentum

Ma Long of China competes in the table tennis men's team final against South Korea at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sept. 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Chinese paddlers lived up to their billing by sweeping men's and women's team titles, while teenage shooters Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao added another gold to the hosts' tally on Day 3 of the Hangzhou Asiad.

HANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's table tennis players secured their fifth straight women's team and the eighth consecutive men's team titles at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Meanwhile, teenage shooters added a gold in the 10m air rifle mixed team event to China's medal tally on Tuesday.

Chinese paddlers dominated the team finals, winning 3-0 in both men's and women's events against South Korea and Japan, respectively. "My teammates gave me much support when I played on the field, and we became more and more united," said world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, who beat Japan's Hina Hayata 3-1 (11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9) to set the pace for Team China.

Following Sun's victory, Olympic champion Chen Meng rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Miu Hirano in five games (12-10, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5), while Wang Manyu concluded the team final with a 3-1 (6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 13-11) victory over 15-year-old Miwa Harimoto.

Sun Yingsha of China celebrates her point during the table tennis women's team final against Japan. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

In the men's side, China eased past South Korea as Wang Chuqin defeated Lim Jong-hoon 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 12-10), Fan Zhendong crushed An Jae-hyun 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-3), and veteran Ma Long swept past Park Gang-hyeon 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-6). The 34-year-old Ma, who only attended the Asiad team event, said he will stay to help teammates prepare for the upcoming matches.

On the shooting range, the 17-year-old Chinese shooter Huang Yuting and her 18-year-old teammate Sheng Lihao won the 10m air rifle mixed team event. This marked Huang's third gold medal in Hangzhou and the second for Sheng, fresh from his world record performance in the men's 10m air rifle on Monday.

"There was a little pressure on the home court, but I just tried to see it from a positive perspective," said Zhejiang-born Huang, who previously won in the women's 10m air rifle individual and team events. "Hangzhou of Zhejiang is a lucky place for me."

Sheng Lihao (R) and Huang Yuting of China compete in the 10m air rifle mixed team gold medal match. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

Also on Tuesday, South Korea clinched the gold in the men's 10m running target mixed team event with 1,116 points, while the event's individual gold went to Indonesia's Muhammad Sejahtera Dwi Putra with 378 points.

Swimming still functioned as a major source for China, as the host grabbed four of the six golds on offer. China's world champion Li Bingjie led all the way to win the women's 400m freestyle in 4:01.96. "It was a bit disappointing as I think I could have finished the event in less than four minutes," Li admitted.

Pan Zhanle, Qin Haiyang, Wang Changhao, and Xu Jiayu refreshed the Asian record with a time of 3:27.01, world second best of all time, to claim the gold in the men's 4x100m medley relay for China.

"We had hoped to break the Asian record before the match, but suddenly we were close to the world record, so our goal now is to break the world record," Xu said.

Pan Zhanle (L) and Xu Jiayu of China greet spectators after the men's 4x100m medley relay final. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

The Asian Games awarded its first-ever eSports gold medal on Tuesday as China defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the final of the Arena of Valor Asian Games Version. Seven gold medals will be decided over nine days from eSports, including two mobile games. League of Legends is widely seen as the most popular one.

On the third full competition day of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Chinese athletes bagged 14 gold medals in total, covering gymnastics, track cycling, judo, and taekwondo, as China leads the medal table with 53 gold, 29 silver, and 13 bronze medals, followed by South Korea and Japan.