China Wins Asian Games 50m Rifle Three-Positions Team Gold
China’s men’s trio of Liu Yukun, Zhang Changhong and Sheng Lihao won gold in the 50m rifle three-positions team event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on 25 September, posting a combined qualification score of 1766-95X to finish ahead of India and South Korea, according to Xinhua.
The victory was notable for the calibre of the lineup: all three shooters are Olympic champions. It also delivered Sheng Lihao his fourth gold medal of these Games, cementing his status as one of the standout athletes of the tournament.
A Record on the Way to Gold
The team event is not contested separately. Instead, team rankings are decided by summing the qualification scores of each nation’s three shooters. Each athlete fires 60 shots across three positions — kneeling, prone and then standing, 20 shots apiece, as Sohu explained.
The team competition doubled as the individual qualification round, held on the morning of 25 September at the Aichi Prefectural Comprehensive Shooting Range in Japan. China’s 1766 total topped India (1762, silver) and South Korea (1751, bronze), according to NetEase.
Zhang Changhong led the Chinese contingent with a qualification score of 593-34X after rounds of 99 and 100 in kneeling, 99 and 100 in prone, and 99 and 96 in standing. That mark broke the Asian Games qualification record for the individual event, previously set at 591 by India’s Kusale at the Hangzhou Games.
Liu Yukun, the reigning Olympic champion in the individual 50m rifle three-positions, scored 588-34X to place fifth and also advanced to the individual final.
Sheng Lihao Misses Individual Final
Sheng’s qualification total came to 585-27X, placing him seventh overall — inside the top eight — but the format rules cost him a place in the individual final. Under the regulations, the top eight individuals advance, but a maximum of two shooters per country may do so. With Zhang and Liu ranked first and fifth and Sheng third among the Chinese entrants, he was left out, as CCTV and other outlets reported.
The result added to an already remarkable Games for Sheng. His earlier golds came in the 10m air rifle mixed team, the 10m air rifle individual, and the 10m air rifle team events. At roughly 22 years old, he has emerged as a marquee name of the tournament and a central figure in China’s shooting programme.
Context and Significance
The victory extends China’s traditional strength in shooting, one of the disciplines where the country has been dominant across the Aichi-Nagoya Games, alongside swimming, gymnastics, table tennis and badminton.
The lineup’s depth was underscored by the fact that all three shooters hold Olympic titles — a “three Olympic champion” combination that Chinese media highlighted as evidence of the programme’s bench strength. Zhang won the men’s 50m rifle three-positions at the Tokyo 2020 Games, while Liu triumphed in the same event at Paris 2024.
For all the team’s success, China’s 1766 fell short of two marks: the world and Asian team record of 1777, set by China in 2023, and the Asian Games team record of 1769, set by India at Hangzhou. Zhang’s individual qualification record of 593 was the day’s most significant new benchmark.
What’s Next
Attention now shifts to the individual 50m rifle three-positions final, where Zhang Changhong and Liu Yukun will carry China’s hopes following their qualification finishes. Sheng Lihao, despite missing that final, remains a leading figure of the Games and a contender across his remaining events.
The team gold is a reminder that China’s shooting depth is such that a world-class shooter can be left out of an individual final by his own country’s strength — an unusual position that underscores both the programme’s success and the intensity of internal competition at the top of the sport.