Chinese archer He Zihao said he loves anime and ramen in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday, after winning his second gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the men's individual compound archery event.
He and Lin Yueshan won the mixed team compound final on Sunday.
Achieving a Games record 148 out of 150 in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, the 27-year-old wore a poker face throughout the competition. "It's a score that we [the Chinese team] easily achieve in practice," he said.
He, who has a spinal cord injury, was introduced to archery about seven years ago through a friend who is an archery coach. He quickly became a force to be reckoned with, winning the bronze medal in the team competition at the 2019 world championships and golds in individual and team events at a competition in Asia that year.
Ranked 19th in the world, he has had an outstanding campaign at his first Paralympic Games.
He showed little emotion when he won the gold on Tuesday.
Even he was surprised by his calmness. "I've never been so focused. Before the Games, I practiced for 400 days without taking a day off. That's the reason I was able to concentrate," he said.
As the interview went on, He showed off a more playful side to his character.
"Now that the Games are over for me, I want to spend some time with my family. I live with my parents," He said through an interpreter, before switching to Japanese to say, "I have no girlfriend."
The anime fan said he taught himself Japanese.
He came to the interview zone in a wheelchair with fabric over the sides of the wheels, which, after lifting the fabric, were revealed to be covered with Evangelion stickers.
He said he has visited Japan six times and Hokkaido is his favorite destination. "I love ramen," he said in Japanese.
Asked which he likes better, Japanese or Chinese ramen, he looked a little befuddled. "Each has its own characteristics … they are both delicious," he said.
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