Shanghai’s Qian Zhenhua tosses the mascot in the air after the prize ceremony for the modern pentathlon in Suzhou yesterday. Qian won with 5,784 points.—Xinhua

Qian Zhenhua from Shanghai defended his world fame after beating out all his rivalsin the men's modern pentathlon final here Thursday at the 10th Chinese National Games.

His teammate Cao Zhongrong finished second after starting the final run in second place while Li Lin from Hubei took bronze.

The 26-year-old Qian first won the shooting with 190 target points to establish an early lead, leaving his main rival Liu Yang from Guangdong lagging behind by 72 points.

Qian, who has just been crowned at the 2005 World Modern Pentathlon Championship held in Warsaw, continued his winning streak in fencing, achieving 28 victories against only two defeats to further strengthen his leading position.

The third leg featured riding competition, in which Qian only finished ninth but still maintained his lead at the top.

Qian, lying first by 104 points ahead of Liu after the third discipline, completed the unpredictable show jumping course with only two gates down before he saw disaster strike Liu in front of him, who knocked down six gates to finish only fourth after the third discipline.

Qian, who claimed the modern pentathlon in the Eighth and Ninth Chinese National Games consecutively, started the run 37 seconds clear of the field and clinched the title finally.