SPORT / OLYMPICS
Chinese athletes off to golden start at Paris Olympics
Female diving pair Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen Photo: Li Hao/ GT
Photo: Li Hao/ GT
The Chinese Olympic delegation at the Paris Olympic Games is off to a golden start, securing two gold medals on the first morning of the 16-day competition.
Chinese shooting pair Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao clinched the first gold medal by defeating their South Korean counterparts, Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun, in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team gold medal match.
Chinese athletes' remarkable achievement also won a congratulatory message from State Councilor Shen Yiqin, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.
"We are thrilled to hear that our athletes Huang and Sheng have won the first gold medal for the Chinese delegation at the Summer Olympics in the 10m air rifle mixed team event," Shen wrote in the message.
"On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, I extend warm congratulations to the winning athletes and the Chinese sports delegation."
"We hope that the Chinese sports delegation will remember its mission and live up to the expectations of the Party and the people... Work hard to bring greater honor to our country and people and make further contributions to building China into a sporting powerhouse," said Shen.
Nearly half an hour later after the shooting duo's win, female diving pair Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen added another gold for China with a convincing performance in the women's synchro 3-meter springboard final, scoring 337.68 points.
Chinese fans took to social media to express their delight over the athletes' achievements, but they also found shooter Sheng's Weibo username particularly interesting.
The 19-year-old's Weibo name, "guangkao ganfan jiu," literally means "winning just by eating." This has now gone viral, with topics like "win a gold medal just by eating" trending widely.
Diver Chang, 22, a five-time world champion, had been missing an Olympic gold medal until today. Recovering from a major shoulder injury earlier this year, she delivered a stellar performance alongside her teammate, winning the event with a 23.04-point lead over US divers Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook.
However, the morning wasn't all good news for China. Veteran fencer Sun Yiwen, the defending Olympic women's epee champion, was eliminated in the first round by Japan's Miho Yoshimura with a score of 14-13.
Despite this, Chinese fans erupted in support for the veteran.
"That's how competitive sports is! She has already won a gold medal in this event! No matter what, she is still an Olympic champion in my heart!" a Weibo user, Lingdong Weixu, commented.
Global Times
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