China's Liu wins Para biathlon men's middle distance sitting gold at Beijing 2022

Special: 2022 Winter Olympics

China's Paralympic debutant Liu Mengtao, 20, claimed the Para biathlon men's middle distance sitting title at Beijing 2022 here on Tuesday.

This is the eighth gold for host China at the ongoing Beijing Winter Paralympics.

Liu, who took a bronze in the Para biathlon men's sprint sitting last Saturday, finished the 10km race in 30 minutes and 30.7 seconds, missing three shots in the four rounds of prone shooting.

32-year-old Martin Fleig from Germany, the Para biathlon men's 15km individual sitting champion at PyeongChang 2018, missed targets twice and settled for the silver at Beijing 2022 with a gap of 46 seconds.

22-year-old Taras Rad from Ukraine, the Para biathlon men's 12.5km sitting champion at PyeongChang 2018, missed four shots and got the bronze, 49.2 seconds adrift of the winner.

24-year-old Liu Zixu, who grabbed the first-ever Paralympic individual gold for China in the Para biathlon men's sprint sitting last Saturday, missed five shots and finished fifth.