In the early hours of April 20 (Beijing time), Chinese athletes Sheng Lihao and Wang Zifei claimed gold medals in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events at the 2025 ISSF World Cup in Lima, Peru, securing both individual titles for Team China. Another major highlight of the day came from 18-year-old Wang Zifei, who broke the world junior records in both the qualification and final rounds of the women’s 10m air rifle, as well as the senior world record in the final. Together with teammates Han Jiayu and Fan Xingyao, Wang also led China to a podium sweep in the event.

This World Cup marked the first time that Sheng Lihao, currently ranked No. 1 in the world in men’s 10m air rifle, officially represented China in an international event during the Los Angeles Olympic cycle (previously, he only competed in qualification rounds to gain ranking points). He was the only Chinese athlete to reach the final in this event. After the first 10 shots, Sheng was tied for fourth among the eight finalists, trailing the leader by 0.9 points. From there, his position steadily improved. After 18 shots, he moved into second place, just 0.4 points behind the leader. Before the final two shots, he was only 0.3 points behind the top-ranked Indian shooter. In the 23rd shot, Sheng scored an impressive 10.9 to take the lead by 0.3 points. In the final shot, Sheng and his Indian rival scored 10.3 and 10.5 respectively, allowing Sheng to clinch the gold medal by a narrow margin of 0.1 points. This marked his first international gold medal of the new Olympic cycle.

Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu, and Fan Xingyao all advanced to the women’s 10m air rifle final. After the first two series of basic shots, Wang led the rankings, while Fan and Han placed fourth and fifth respectively. Wang maintained her lead throughout the match. After the 20th shot, only the three Chinese athletes remained in contention for medals, with Wang leading Han by 2.4 points. In her final two shots, Wang scored 10.8 and 10.5, finishing with a total of 254.8 points—breaking the world and world junior records in the women’s 10m air rifle final, previously held by Huang Yuting of China. Han Jiayu and Fan Xingyao took silver and bronze, respectively. Wang has shown strong form in the first two World Cup events of the year. At the Buenos Aires stop in Argentina, she won gold with a score just 0.4 points short of the world record.