HANGZHOU, July 24– China’s young talent Yao Qianxun secured her second gold medal at the 2026 ISSF World Cup Hangzhou on Friday, taking the women’s 10m air pistol title following her earlier victory in the 10m air pistol mixed team.
Asian marks women dominated the qualification round of the women’s 10m air pistol, and all finalists of this event came from Asia, turning the match into a preview of the 2026 Asian Games. All three Chinese entrants – Shen Yiyao, Jiang Ranxin and Yao Qianxun – advanced to the final. Shen led the qualification standings with a total score of 588 points. After the opening 5-shot series in the final, Jiang Ranxin and Indian star Suruchi Inder Singh were tied for first place. In the following rounds, Yao managed to catch up and delivered outstanding consistency throughout the final. She registered only one shot below 10 points in the elimination phase and held the lead from start to finish.
After the final shot, Yao edged another Indian player Sainyam by a slim 0.2-point margin with 243.6 points to clinch the gold, her first women’s 10m air pistol World Cup title of the 2026 season. Haniyeh Rostamiyan from Iran got the bronze. “I don’t really understand the scoring announcements, so I just concentrated on my own performance the whole time,” said Yao about her stable performance amid the high-pressure final. “I focused on executing my movements properly and immersing myself in the process. That was all I needed to do.”
In the final of men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, German star Oliver Geis equaled the world record with 35 hits to take the gold. His teammate Emanuel Mueller secured silver with 31 hits. He Shiyu of China took home the bronze.
Xinhua
