Hangzhou athletes secured 13 gold medals, three silver medals, and four bronze medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, breaking two world records, four Asian records, and four meet records, according to local sports reports. The performance surpassed the eight gold medals won at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games to establish a new record for Hangzhou competitors at an overseas edition of the continental multi-sport event. Across successive editions of the Games, athletes from the city have accumulated a total of 112 gold medals. Twenty-five athletes from Hangzhou earned selection to the Chinese national sports delegation for the Nagoya Games, contributing to victories across shooting, canoeing, swimming, track cycling, badminton, table tennis, tennis, football, rhythmic gymnastics, and e-sports.
Wang Zifei Leads Record-Breaking Shooting Campaign
Nineteen-year-old shooter Wang Zifei claimed three gold medals during the competition at the Fuyang native’s Asian Games. On Sept. 20, Wang teamed up with Han Jiayu and Du Yuchen to score 1,904.2 points in the women’s 10-meter air rifle team event, breaking the world record and securing the first gold medal for provincial athletes at the Games. Two days later, Wang partnered with Sheng Lihao to win the 10-meter air rifle mixed team title with 507.1 points, establishing a second world record. On Sept. 26, Wang joined teammates to post 1,773 points in the women’s 50-meter rifle three positions team event, tying the Asian record while delivering the 100th gold medal for the Chinese delegation at the Nagoya Games.
Chinese Canoeists Win Eight Gold Medals
Hangzhou competitors anchored the Chinese national canoe sprint squad, which collected eight gold and two silver medals overall. Yu Shimeng and Yin Mengdie finished the women’s kayak double 500-meter final in 1 minute, 45.01 seconds on Sept. 24, capturing the first canoeing gold of the Games for China. Wang Nan joined Yu and other teammates the following day to win the women’s kayak fours 500-meter event in 1 minute, 33.784 seconds, before Wang claimed the women’s kayak singles 500-meter title in 1 minute, 55.999 seconds on Sept. 26. In men’s competition, Ding Shengkai earned a silver medal in the men’s kayak fours 500-meter event. In the pool, Fei Liwei teamed up with Xu Haibo, Pan Zhanle, and Zhang Zhanshuo to win the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay in 7 minutes, 00.17 seconds on Sept. 21, lowering the Asian record by 0.74 seconds.
China Secures Titles in Cycling, Badminton and Tennis
Track cyclist Jiang Yulu defended her title in the women’s team sprint on Sept. 29 alongside national teammates, posting 45.370 seconds to break the Asian record. On the badminton courts, Chen Yufei and Han Qianxi helped the Chinese women’s team sweep Japan 3-0 to reclaim the team gold medal for the first time in 12 years, while Chen Yi contributed to a 3-0 victory over Japan in the women’s table tennis team final to extend the nation’s streak to six consecutive titles. In tennis, Wang Xiyu won the women’s singles tournament against a teammate, while Wu Yishen earned the silver medal in the men’s singles event. Wang Lancjing secured a gold medal in the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around final on Oct. 3 with a combined score of 55.300 points.
E-Sports Contributers Add to Medal Count
In e-sports, Wang Ke represented Hangzhou by helping the Chinese national team defeat Malaysia 4-0 in the Honor of Kings final on Sept. 28 to defend the gold medal. Teammate Li Haokui competed in the Peacekeeper Elite Asian Games version event, where the Chinese squad finished with a silver medal. The results pushed the cumulative gold medal total for Hangzhou athletes across all historical editions of the Asian Games to 112.
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