China’s Olympic champion Sheng Lihao secured his first men’s 10m air rifle gold medal at the ISSF World Championships Doha 2026 after edging compatriot Ma Sihan by a single point in a thrilling final at the Lusail Shooting Range on Tuesday.
Sheng produced a winning score of 254.1 points, finishing just ahead of Ma, who settled for silver with 253.1 points, as China dominated the event with a one-two finish.
“I felt the competition went surprisingly smoothly, and I also saw that the other competitors put in some excellent performances,” Sheng said.
The victory marks another major milestone in the career of the 21-year-old, who has now completed an impressive collection of major international titles in the men's 10m air rifle.
Already an Olympic champion, Sheng previously won the event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the 2024 ISSF World Cup Final, the 2023 Asian Championships, the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
His latest triumph at Lusail range adds the one major honour that had been missing from his impressive collection - a world championship title in the event.
The victory also carries significant importance for China beyond the medal standings, securing a quota place in the men’s 10m air rifle competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The ongoing ISSF World Championships is the first event in the qualification pathway for LA28, making the result an important early step in China’s preparations for the next Olympic cycle.
For Sheng, the gold medal not only strengthens his position among the world's leading rifle shooters but also underlines his remarkable consistency at the highest level of international competition.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sheng topped the qualification round with 637.2 points, averaging more than 10.6 per shot. He also helped China set a world record in the men's team event, combining with Ma and Zhang Changhong, who each scored 632.2, for a total of 1,901.6.
After leading through the first 10 shots of the final, Sheng briefly lost the top spot following the first elimination series. He responded with scores of 10.8 and 10.9 in the next series and remained in front thereafter. Holding a 0.9-point advantage over Ma heading into the final series, Sheng sealed the title with two scores of 10.7.
Ma took silver in his World Championships debut, while Croatia’s Miran Maricic claimed bronze with 229.9 points and secured an Olympic quota place for his country.
China’s Zhang finished fourth, just 0.3 points off the podium, while Croatia’s Josip Sikavica placed fifth. That allowed Slovakia’s Patrik Jany, who finished sixth, to secure the remaining quota place, as each National Olympic Committee can win a maximum of one quota in each event at the ongoing championships.
In the women’s 10m air rifle final, South Korea’s Olympic champion Ban Hyo-jin staged a comeback to beat China’s Han Jiayu by 0.9 points and win the title.
Ban trailed Han by 1.1 points after the opening 10 shots but steadily closed the gap in the following series, taking the lead after 20 shots. The 19-year-old maintained her momentum to claim gold with 253.1 points. Han finished second with 252.2, while her compatriot Wang Zifei climbed from eighth place to take bronze with 231.0.
Ban and Han thus secured LA28 quota places for South Korea and China, respectively, while fourth-placed Oceanne Muller earned a third quota for France.
The opening ceremony of the tournament held on Monday was attended by Rashid al-Buainain, Secretary General of Qatar Olympic Committee, Italian Luciano Rossi, President of International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Dr. Meshaal Ibrahim al-Nasr, President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Assciation, Vice President of the Asian Shooting Federation, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the tournament, Dr. Ahmed Abdullah al-Buainain, Director General of the Organizing Committee of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027, CEO of the Organizing Committee of the Asian Games Doha 2030, Kuwaiti Duaij al-Otaibi, President of the Kuwaiti and Arab Shooting Federations and Secretary General of the Asian Federation of the game, and representatives of the participating delegations.
The World Championships run through November 13, with the 10m air rifle mixed team and men's 25m rapid fire pistol events scheduled for Wednesday.