PARIS: After taking two golds and one bronze on the opening day of Paris 2024, Zhang Xin, secretary-general of China’s Olympic delegation, told Xinhua on Saturday that the Chinese Olympians had made a good start to the tournament and met expectations.
The honor of winning the first gold medal of Paris 2024 went to Chinese shooters Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting, who claimed a 16-12 win over South Korea in the final of the 10m air rifle mixed team.
“The two teenagers showed superb competitive strength and great mental power, which helped them bring the gold medal to China. Especially in the last few shots of the final round, when their opponents kept cutting the deficit, they stopped their rivals from turning the event around. They deserve to be praised,” said Zhang.
Discussing the victory of divers Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen in the women’s synchronized 3m springboard final, Zhang said that Chang and Chen showed the power of China’s diving team.
“In the swimming event, we knew that compared with us, the Australian and American swimmers are more competitive at the 4x100m women’s freestyle relay. However, we reached the podium and broke the Asian record. It’s a precious bronze for our delegation,” Zhang added.
Zhang spoke highly of many Chinese athletes, including the men’s swimming team who took the fourth place in the 4x100m freestyle relay, along with Tang Xin, who finished 32nd in the women’s individual trials in the cycling road event, the table tennis team, the badminton team and the men’s artistic gymnastics team.
“On Saturday, Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin sent a congratulatory message to the Chinese Olympic delegation after we took the first gold of the Paris Games,” Zhang said.
