China wins historic gold in women's javelin

Tokyo: Chinese athletics team achieved another breakthrough at the Tokyo Olympic track and field on Friday with Liu Shiying delivered Asia's first gold medal in women's javelin throw.

Liu only made two successful attempts but her powerful first throw of 66.34 meters was enough to secure her historic victory. It's also the second athletic gold for China at Tokyo 2020 after Gong Lijiao winning in the women's shot put.

"I feel surprised to win the gold medal, but I think it could be attributed to my good state of mind today," said Liu after the competition. Liu's teammate Lyu Huihui ranked fifth with 63.41 meters.

Chinese men's and women's relay teams both competed in the 4x100m finals. The women's team achieved the best ranking ever by finishing sixth with 42.71 seconds in their first appearance in the final since Sydney 2000.

The Chinese men's team just fell short of the podium for the second Olympic Games in a row after Rio 2016 by finishing fourth with 37.79 seconds that tied the national record.

"We were doing ok today but overall we failed to live up to our own expectations," said Su Bingtian, the 100m finalist who ran the 3rd leg, "We had some issues in the exchanges. But I believe the Chinese team will definitely make it to the podium in the future."

China suffered an upset in women's 20km race walk where world record holder Yang Jiayu and defending champion Liu Hong failed to stop Italian Antonella Palmisano from winning the gold. Yang suffered a penalty toward the end of the race while Liu managed to bring home the bronze medal. Enditem