Gong Lijiao of China competes during the women's shot put qualification at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ming)
Reigning world shot put champion Gong Lijiao of China said her expectation for the Doha worlds is to retain the title and renew her personal best.
DOHA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- After going through the qualification round with great ease, China's reigning world shot put champion Gong Lijiao on Wednesday revealed her expectation for the final at the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Doha - to retain the gold medal and renew her personal best.
The 30-year-old gained her big Q with only one throw, achieving 18.96 meters to finish third in all the qualifiers.
Gong Lijiao of China reacts after the women's shot put qualification at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Jia Yuchen)
"I did not warm up before entering the stadium and just did some warm-up in the field. I want to save all my energy for tomorrow's final," said Gong, who is competing in her seventh worlds starting from 2007.
"The temperature at the stadium is quite comfortable, which will be helpful to achieve good results," the world top-ranked shot putter said. "I have no pressure going to defend my world title. My season was great and I won a lot of competitions. I feel very confident."
Gong Lijiao of China competes during the women's shot put qualification at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ming)
The Chinese has won 12 out of 13 competitions this year before coming to Doha, including taking her back-to-back IAAF Diamond League prize with a season-best of 20.31.
"I believe my performance in the final will be very close to my personal best. And maybe I will renew it tomorrow," said the confident Gong.
Gong set her personal best of 20.43 three years ago in Halle, Germany. She hurled 19.90 to win the gold medal at the 2017 world championships in London. ■
