GUANGZHOU, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Liaoning's 15-year-old Du Yuchen and 21-year-old Liu Baichen claimed the 10m air rifle mixed team title at China's 15th National Games on Sunday, in an event that featured six Olympic champions as the rifle and pistol competitions kicked off in Guangzhou.

Competing against multiple Olympic and world champions, Du and Liu led the qualification with 634.9 points, followed by Zhang Qianying and Lin Feng of Fujian with 632.7, and Xia Siyu and Lu Dingke of Sichuan with 632.6. Pan Xiaorun and Li Xianhao of Yunnan finished fourth on 632.3.

"It definitely boosted our confidence. Scoring that high in qualification was like a shot of reassurance for both me and my teammate. It helped us go into the final feeling calm and confident," said Du, who posted 318.3 points, averaging 10.61 per shot.

Reigning Olympic champions Sheng Lihao (Jiangsu) and Huang Yuting (Zhejiang) failed to reach the top four with their respective partners. World record holders Wang Zifei of Zhejiang and Peng Xinlu of Hunan also missed the qualification cut.

In the gold medal match, Du and Liu made a strong start, racing to a 6-0 lead and extending it to 12-4. Despite a spirited comeback by Zhang and Lin that narrowed the gap to 12-10, the Liaoning pair held their nerve to close out the victory 16-12.

Speaking about the key to their win, Du said, "I focused on doing my own job, without being distracted by their progress. The key was to believe in myself and my teammate."

"It's all about mindset - keeping a steady mentality," added Liu.

The victory marked Liaoning's first shooting gold at the National Games in 16 years, leaving coach Li Zirui visibly emotional in the mixed zone.

"Liu was very steady throughout. For 15-year-old Du, it's really not easy to handle the pressure of such a big event and work so well with her teammate. This match was truly exciting for us," Li said.

Li, 62, revealed that he had come out of retirement for these Games. "I actually retired two years ago, but I guess I still had some fight left in me. I wanted to finish these Games well, writing a perfect closing chapter for my career. After so many years of hard work, seeing it finally pay off feels truly rewarding," he said.

The bronze medal match proved equally intense, as Xia and Lu of Sichuan rallied from 6-0 down to tie Pan and Li of Yunnan at 6-6 after a timeout. The teams traded points until 12-12, when Xia and Lu both shot 10.8, edging ahead by 0.1 to force Yunnan into a timeout.

However, Lu's subsequent 8.8 allowed Yunnan to level at 14-14, setting up a decisive final series. Sichuan held firm, firing two 10.6s to secure the bronze.

"I think my rhythm and adjustments were pretty good today. In the end, I managed to break through my own limits and withstand the pressure," said Lu, silver medalist at the 2025 Asian Championships.

"I wanted to give the audience - and the leaders from my province - a little suspense," Lu joked about his errant shot. "Technically speaking, that one went off too quickly. For the final shot, I focused on calming down, slowing my actions, and taking my time before pulling the trigger."

Both athletes credited mutual trust as the key to their resilience. "Of course there were some ups and downs mentally, but the key was to focus on myself and trust my teammate," Xia said.

The women's 10m air rifle and men's 25m rapid fire pistol gold medals will be contested on Monday. ■