PARIS - Chinese cyclist Li Zhangyu claimed the nation's first gold medal by beating his compatriot Liang Weicong in the men's C1 3,000m individual pursuit gold medal match at the Paris Paralympics here on Thursday.

In the Paralympic C1 3,000m individual pursuit event, Li, 36, had taken a silver at London 2012, a gold at Rio 2016 and a bronze at Tokyo 2020. Furthermore, this is the fifth gold in his Paralympic tours.

"The gold medal made up for my regret at Tokyo 2020," Li said. "I thought about breaking the world record, but I didn't expect I could surpass it that much."

Li upgraded the new world record by over 4 seconds in the qualifying with a time of 3:31.338 and advanced to the gold medal match with Liang, ensuring a gold medal for the Chinese delegation before the final.

READ MORE: Joyful ceremony kickstarts Paris 2024 Paralympics

Li did not know before the match that he would win the first gold medal for China. "I am very excited to hear that. It's a huge honor for me."