China adds three gold medals on Day 6 at Kobe Para Athletics Championships

Kobe (Japan), May 22: Chinese athletes took home three gold medals at the Para Athletics World Championships 2024 here on Wednesday. Chinese wheelchair racers enjoyed double one two victories, as the men's 1,500m T54 final saw Jin Hua clinch gold with a time of two minutes 54.85 seconds, and Dai Yunqiang won the silver medal.

In another double podium finish, Zhou Hongzhuan and Gao Fang in the women's 100m T53 final claimed the gold and silver medals by clocking 16.88 seconds and 16.91 seconds respectively, both achieving their season bests.

Chinese gold medalist Zhong Huanghao, 25, defended his title in the men's long jump T38 final with a leap of 6.66 meters on his second attempt, while his team-mate Zhou Peng claimed the bronze. Among Chinese medalists on Wednesday was also Zhou Zhaoqian who won silver in women's 100m T54 with her season best time of 16.34s, reports Xinhua.

At the end of the day, which is the sixth competition day of the nine-day tournament, China continued to top the medal tally with 18 gold, 16 silver, and 14 bronze medals.

The World Championships, held in East Asia for the first time, serve as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The championships have attracted over 1,000 athletes from 100 countries and regions competing in 168 events.

A total of 73 Chinese para athletes are competing in the championships, which run until May 25. Originally scheduled for 2021, the event was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.