Mixing up the competition

China targeting success in new tandem discipline

After a so-so test run, Chinese shooters are fine-tuning their mental marksmanship for the Olympic debut of mixed team competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

A traditional power in 10-meter air rifle and pistol, China hopes to take advantage of rule changes adopted at last week's International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup series in Beijing to grab a podium position in the new discipline.

Under the new rules, the top eight pairs in the qualification round will compete in quarter-and semifinal stages before entering the medal shootouts, where two points are awarded if the combined scores of the shooters better the opposing team after each round.

A tie score awards the teams one point apiece, with the first to 16 points declared the winner.

The new format, which erodes the advantage of multiple-round score accumulation, took a toll on the home team's medal haul at the Cup competition.

Although they reached the gold medal shootouts in the 10m mixed events, rifle combo Yang Haoran and Liu Ruxuan and pistol tandem Pang Wei and Jiang Ranxin had to settle for silver behind two Indian pairs at the Beijing Shooting Range.

"It was a sudden big change which makes the final much more unpredictable than the previous one. It opens up medal chances for some underdog competitors," said Yang, world champion and four-time World Cup winner in men's 10m air rifle.

The ISSF announced the new rule on April 19, two days before the opening of the Beijing World Cup, with the intention of making competitions more exciting and easier to follow for TV viewers, according to a statement on the sanctioning body's website.

"It's more thrilling to watch but more challenging for the athletes because now each shot counts, which leaves a much smaller margin for error. It puts much more emphasis on consistency and precision under pressure," said Yang.

The 23-year-old from Hebei province, who shot to prominence as an 18-year-old by setting a world junior record in 10m rifle at the 2014 worlds, has emerged as one of China's brightest medal hopes for Tokyo, both individually and in the team discipline. He claimed gold with Zhao Ruozhu at the last year's ISSF world championships in South Korea.

Liu, Yang's partner at the Beijing event, stressed that the repeated elimination rounds leading up to the shootout for gold are physically and emotionally draining.

"It's no longer about making your way through the qualification and then having a shot at a medal," said Liu, the 2014 national champion in women's 50m 3-position rifle. "The quarters and semis make you have to relax and regroup emotionally, which is as tough as the physical toll it takes."

With more mixed team tests on tap at domestic trials and future World Cup series, national team manager Wang Lian is confident China's deep talent pool can translate into medal success in Tokyo.

"It's a matter of getting used to the new rules, but it still comes down to how stable and accurate our shooters are when facing the do-or-die pressure, just like in the other disciplines," Wang said.

To further promote gender equality and make the sport more entertaining, the International Olympic Committee in June 2017 replaced three individual men's shooting disciplines with new mixed team events in 10m rifle, pistol and trap shooting.

In Tokyo, the number of mixed events will double from nine at Rio 2016 to 18 in a major step toward achieving the 50 percent gender balance in both athletes and events, as recommended by Olympic Agenda 2020.

China only shot down one gold in Rio - Zhang Mengxue in women's 10m air pistol - contributing to a total haul of 22 since 1984.

The team boasts legitimate gold contenders in men's and women's individual rifle in 10m and 50m 3-position, women's 10m pistol and the mixed events.

"Our goal is to try to win gold in all disciplines that we have built a tradition. The two new mixed events are definitely on our target. The challenge is that our young core roster must learn to handle the big-time pressure," Wang said.