Young guns target Olympic gold

Over the past couple of years, a glut of young shooting talent, particularly athletes born after the year 2000, has emerged rapidly, taking over the mantle from their predecessors to shine on the world stage across various competitions.

At the Hangzhou Games, Huang, together with 23-year-old Han Jiayu and 19-year-old Wang Zhilin, triumphed in the women's 10m air rifle team event with an Asian Gamesrecord score of 1,896.6 points, to win the first shooting gold medal of the Games.

Just two hours after securing the team title, Huang and Han delivered a Chinese 1-2 in the women's 10m air rifle individual event, bagging gold and silver, respectively.

"I feel happy about my performance, as it shows that my training has paid off," Huang said at the news conference after her medal-laden day.

"There was a little pressure to perform on home turf, but I just tried to see it in a positive way," said Zhejiang-born Huang, "Hangzhou is a lucky place for me."

A prodigious talent, Huang earned her first national team callup in 2021. A year later, she made her world championships debut, winning two golds and one silver medal, securing China a spot at next year's Paris Olympics in the process.

Born in 2001, Han is another rising star of the Chinese team. She pocketed the 10m air rifle gold in her debut at the world championships in Baku last month, earning China an Olympic berth in that event, too.

"I was nervous and happy. I hope to continue competing for my country," Han said after her victory at the worlds.

Even though Han lost to Huang in the 10m air rifle individual, she collected another gold on Wednesday in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions team event, as part of a young golden trio, also including 20-year-old Xia Siyu and 19-year-old Zhang Qiongyue.

Nineteen-year-old Wang Zhilin has also delivered impressive results early in her career, producing a major upset when she defeated reigning Olympic champion Yang Qian to claim 10m air rifle gold at the 2021 National Games in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

The 23-year-old Liu Rui pocketed gold in the women's 25m pistol individual event on Tuesday and collected a silver in the team event a day later, alongside Zhao Nan and Feng Sixuan, born in 2004 and 2002, respectively.

With two new world records, the achievements of the young men also compete with those of the women.

Sheng, who took a silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, set a world record of 253.3 points to clinch the gold in the men's 10m air rifle at the Hangzhou Asiad.

The 22-year-old Liu Yangpan, together with his teammates, won the men's 25m rapid fire pistol team event, with a world-record tally of 1,756 points.

After the Asiad, the young shooters will switch their focus to next year's Paris Olympics, where they hope to continue their inexorable rise.

"Shooting is a sport in which you compete against yourself," Huang said. "Regardless of who my opponent is, I'll strive to give my best."