CHENGDU: Hosts China claimed five of the six medals on offer, including both men’s and women’s titles, as the sport climbing competition of the World Games opened in Chengdu on Thursday.Chu Shouhong took the men’s speed single gold in 4.80 seconds, while 2024 Paris Olympic silver medallist Deng Lijuan edged team-mate Qin Yumei by just one-hundredth of a second to win the women’s crown in 6.40 seconds.

The competition field was stacked with elite talent. Absent were Paris men’s silver medallist Wu Peng and women’s champion Aleksandra Miroslaw of Poland, but of the six medallists from the Paris Olympics, four were in action in Chengdu.

Indonesia sent a full-strength squad led by Olympic champion Veddriq Leonardo while the US fielded men’s world record holder and Olympic bronze medallist Samuel Watson alongside top-ranked Emma Hunt.

Kazakhstan, Japan and other nations also sent their strongest line-ups.

China advanced two men and three women to the semi-finals.

Deng narrowly beat Qin in the women’s final with Zhou Yafei taking bronze after a 6.31-second run to edge Indonesia’s Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi by three-hundredths of a second. The sweep gave the hosts all three women’s medals.

“When the national anthem played and three flags were shown in front of me, I felt very excited and happy,” Deng said. “I didn’t think too much today, just focused on doing my own job well and on every climb.”

The men’s gold-medal race pitted Watson, battling a left shoulder injury, against 18-year-old Chu, who is in his first year competing on the international circuit. Watson had fought past Leonardo, China’s Long Jianguo and other top names to reach the final, but his 4.96 seconds was not enough to beat Chu’s personal-best 4.80.

“My coach told me just to remember the moves and keep a calm mind,” Chu said.

Long Jianguo of China took the men’s bronze.

France’s veteran Benjamin Choquert broke through a strong Belgian field to claim the first duathlon gold medal of the World Games in the men’s individual event.

The 39-year-old Choquert, who won silver medal in the last World Games, crossed the finish line in one hour, 14 minutes and 14 seconds. Belgian Arnaud Dely followed nine seconds behind to take silver, while compatriot Vincent Bierinckx claimed bronze.

China’s Duan Zhengyu and Tong Yujia finished 16th and 19th, respectively.

In women’s softball, China fell 8-1 to Team Chinese Taipei in their Group ‘A’ game, as the host team suffered their second straight defeat to miss out on the semi-finals.

Chinese Taipei collected 11 hits, while China managed just one throughout the match.

“We weren’t nervous, but our focus wasn’t enough,” Chinese player Ren Min said. “This tournament is a wake-up call for us, teaching us to learn from losses and think about how to beat opponents next time.”

In the other Group ‘A’ game, Megan Faraimo threw four no-hit innings as the US outplayed the Netherlands 8-1 in five innings, securing a berth in the semi-finals ahead of Friday’s game against China.

In Group ‘B’, Canada routed Australia 9-0 in six innings, and Japan defeated Puerto Rico 7-0, with both teams clinching semi-final berths. They will face each other on Friday.

CHINESE WOMEN GO DOWN FIGHTING

In their first international appearance, China women’s flag football team came close to pulling off a major upset against world No. 4 Austria, falling just short 47-45 in preliminary round action.

“These players only began training on May 9 this year, and some only started playing the sport under two months ago,” said Chinese head coach Guo Ruibin. “Now we can compete with one of the best teams in the world.”

Facing Austria, who finished fourth at last year’s World Championships, China showed remarkable offensive efficiency, scoring on seven of their eight drives.

The two teams traded the lead throughout the match, with Austria ahead 27-25 at halftime. Wang Xin scored China’s first international touchdown just two minutes into the first half after a pinpoint throw from quarterback Niu Xinyu.

In a nail-biting second half, Austria scored to take a 47-45 lead with only eight seconds remaining, leaving no time for the hosts to mount a comeback. Both teams had seven touchdowns, but Austria converted two more extra points to seal the win.

Guo admitted his players were “a little nervous” in the first 10 minutes. “We have to do better in defence, and they will gain experience day by day,” he said.

Austria head coach Robert Riedl said his team had fought hard for the win. “China were really, really good. It was a close game, and we had to fight until the end.”

International Federation of American Football president Pierre Trochet also praised the home team.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect that a new team could really compete with the world No. 4. I have seen team spirit, energy, and I heard the support of the fans in the stadium. The potential of China is very impressive.”

China sit in Group ‘A’ with Austria, Canada and the US in the eight-team tournament.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025