Asian Games Day Two: China's Shooters and Paddlers Shine in Hangzhou

The Asian Games in Hangzhou delivered another packed day of action on September 25, with China’s shooting and table tennis teams carrying the host nation’s medal hopes while a few near-misses kept the competition unpredictable.

In shooting, Liu Yukun produced the day’s most dramatic finish in the men’s 50m rifle three-position final. Trailing going into the last shot, he overtook Tokyo Olympic champion Zhang Changhong to take gold by just 0.3 points, setting a new Asian Games record with a score of 360.5. Zhang took silver, giving China a one-two finish, while a Kazakh shooter claimed bronze. It was China’s 11th shooting gold of these Games.

Table tennis brought fewer nerves but plenty of entertainment. Wang Chuqin, one of China’s leading men’s players, survived a scare against 16-year-old Thai prospect Tittaphat Prichayan. Wang dropped the opening game 3-11, then traded games before pulling away 11-2 and 11-5 to win 4-2 and reach the round of 16. Earlier in the day, Lin Shidong, another rising Chinese star, was far more comfortable against Macau’s Mak Tin Ian, winning 4-0 with a dominant third game in which he reeled off ten straight points.

Not every Chinese athlete enjoyed a smooth day. In men’s fencing team foil, the trio of Wei Qiao, Zeng Zhaoran and Xu Jie lost 43-45 to Japan in the semifinals. Because fencing at the Asian Games awards two bronze medals without a playoff, China still took third place on the podium, but the narrow margin left little room for consolation.

Skateboarding offered a tougher lesson. Chen Ye, the defending champion in the men’s park event, finished eighth with a score of 49.12, well off the pace as a Japanese skater took gold with 88.96 points. It was a reminder of how quickly the sport’s international depth is growing ahead of skateboarding’s continued Olympic presence.

Badminton’s men’s team final ended in disappointment for the hosts, who fell to Indonesia after taking a 2-0 lead. Shi Yuqi, who won his singles match, said afterwards that he had focused on staying patient and following his opponent’s rhythm rather than forcing his own attacking game, a tactical shift he felt improved his scoring efficiency.

In women’s football, South Korea advanced past Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals, continuing a tournament in which they have combined a strong attack with a stingy defense. The day also saw China’s men’s football team give a debut to 31-year-old Yang Mingyang, who was born in Switzerland and later returned to play in China. He started against Maldives and described the moment on social media as a great honor.

For global viewers, the Hangzhou Games are offering a window into both China’s established strengths in shooting and table tennis and the rising competitiveness of sports like skateboarding and fencing across Asia. With more finals to come, the host nation’s medal tally is likely to keep growing, even as the margins in several events remain razor thin.