Thousands of athletes limber up as Shanxi's provincial games open

Shanxi's largest multi-sport event opened in the city of Changzhi on Saturday, bringing together about 12,000 athletes to compete in multiple disciplines.

Hosted at the Changzhi Sports Center Stadium, the 17th Games of Shanxi Province are divided into competitive and mass sports programs.

According to organizers, the competitive program features 37 disciplines and 731 events across 26 sports.

Tang Dengjie, secretary of the Communist Party of China Shanxi Provincial Committee, declared the games open at Saturday's ceremony, while six torchbearers took part in the final torch relay before the main cauldron was lit.

At the ceremony, Shanxi Governor Lu Dongliang encouraged athletes to demonstrate sportsmanship and strive for excellence during the competition.

The first gold medal of the games was awarded in shooting, traditionally one of Shanxi's stronger sports. Zhang Jiale, Hao Tianyu and Hou Bowen, representing Yangquan, scored a combined 835 points to win the men's Group C 25-meter standard pistol team event on Saturday morning.

Hou, 14, said the team had trained for nearly 10 hours a day in preparation for the games.

"This achievement is the result of the joint efforts of our coach and the whole team," he told local media.

Hou, who began shooting training around 18 months ago, said the competition had further strengthened his determination to pursue the sport.

Chen Shuo contributed to this story.