Agency :
China on Friday had a harvest of 11 gold medals to consolidate its top position at the medal tally of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, with a total of 43 medals, including 19 golds.
During the first day of athletics competitions, Zhou Xia of China claimed gold in the women’s 100m T35 thriller as she set a new world record of 13.00 seconds.
“I’m super excited,” the reigning champion said after winning the first gold medal in athletics for China at the Tokyo Paralympics. “I didn’t expect myself to be this fast.”
Besides Zhou, Dong Feixia claimed gold in the women’s discus throw F55, and Di Dongdong won the first place in the men’s long jump T11 while Wen Xiaoyan pocketed the gold in the women’s 200m T37 with a new world record of 26.58 seconds.
On Friday, Chinese powerlifters won three golds in men’s 59-kg, women’s 50-kg and women’s 55-kg event.
In the women’s 50-kg event, Hu Dandan performed well with three successful attempts. Her third lift of 120kg forced her strong rival Rehab Ahmed from Egypt to try 121kg in the third attempt but the latter failed. Hu won her second Paralympic gold medal as she weighs less than Ahmed, whose best lift in the day is also 120kg.
“I am relaxed and not under too much pressure today, so I had good performance. Powerlifting is a sport that will always challenge the athletes to the extreme. I will work hard to strive to have a good performance three years from now in Paris,” Hu said in a conversation with Xinhua.
At the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Chinese swimmers Zheng Tao, Wang Lichao and Yuan Weiyi astonishingly swept the three medals in the men’s 50m butterfly S5 event, with Zheng’s 30.62 second setting up a new world record.
“I wanted this gold medal so much as I missed it in the previous two Paralympics,” Zheng said after finally achieving his target.
In the women’s 50m butterfly S5, Lu Dong won the gold medal with a new world record of 39.54 seconds while her teammate Cheng Jiao bagged the bronze.
On Friday, Chinese athletes also collected two golds in cycling track and wheelchair fencing.
