Photo: VCG

Although the 15th National Games will officially open on November 9, several competitions have already begun, with the shooting range seeing two world records surpassed.

In the women's 10-meter air pistol qualification held on Thursday, the Shanghai team composed of Jiang Ranxin, Shen Yiyao, and Zhang Qi achieved a combined score of 1,745 points, surpassing the previous world record of 1,740 points set by Team China at the 2025 Asian Shooting Championships. 

Earlier in Wednesday's women's 50-meter rifle three positions elimination round, post-2000 athlete Miao Wanru scored 597 points, breaking the 596-point world record set by Norway's Jenny Stene in 2022.

During the women's 50-meter rifle three positions final at the 14th National Games, Miao took gold with a score of 466.9 points, breaking the previous world record of 464.7 points set by an Italian shooter in 2015. 

Although the International Shooting Sport Federation only recognizes world records set at international events such as the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cups, the record-breaking performances at the National Games demonstrate China's deep reserve of shooting talent, Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"Shooting has been one of China's traditional strengths, and the outstanding results these past few days reflect the country's consistent and high-level training. The emergence of several young athletes has also laid a solid foundation for its future Olympic success," Wang noted.

Several finals have also taken place over the past few days, with the Zhejiang, Shandong, and Jiangsu teams delivering outstanding performances. They captured the gold medals for the women's 10-meter air rifle team, men's 25-meter rapid-fire pistol team, and men's 10-meter air rifle individual events, respectively.

During the qualification rounds, the competition was already intense. Team Zhe­jiang's total of 1,903.6 points not only set a new national record but also surpassed the 1,902.0-point world record previously set by Team China at the 2025 Asian Championships. Hunan followed closely with 1,899.1 points, foreshadowing a fierce final showdown.

During the final, the two teams were neck and neck until the very last two rounds, when the scores finally diverged to 16-12, establishing Team Zhejiang as the winner.

In the men's 10-meter air rifle individual final, Paris Olympic champion Sheng Lihao from Jiangsu claimed gold with 254.6 points. Known for his calm demeanor after winning Olympic gold, Sheng admitted that this time "I was a bit nervous, luck played a part in it."

Beyond the shooting range, trampoline events have also started ahead of the opening ceremony. The U15 and U18 men's football matches are also underway, while several roller skating first-round contests took place on Thursday.

As the opening ceremony draws nearer, the atmosphere of the National Games is heating up across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in an executive council meeting Tuesday that he had attended the torch collection ceremony for the Games and brought the flame back to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). Torch relay events will take place in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in early November.

The Macao SAR will send a sports delegation of more than 400 athletes and a team of over 180 for the Paralympics and Special Olympics competitions. Hong Kong SAR will send 600 athletes to compete in 28 events, its largest-ever delegation for the National Games.