Chinese marksmen finished on the top three positions in the men's rapid fire pistol individual event with debutant Liu Zhongsheng on top at the 15th Asiad in Doha on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Liu, who was making his Asiad debut, edged out his compatriot Zhang Penghui, the world champion in Zagreb, by shooting the highest of 199.4 points in the 20-shot final round.

His total score was 778.4 points, three tenth of a point higher than Zhang, the winner of the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998.

Liu Guohui, the reigning champion, was third with a total of 776.5 points. However, he was denied the bronze medal as the Asian Games rules stipulate that shooters from the same NOC cannot make a clean podium finish in any individual event.

"The rankings are good, but I am not satisfied with their scores," said Sheng Haoming, the coach of the trio. "They did not compete to their standards today."

"They should learn how to deal with pressure in such a multi-sport meet," he added. "Otherwise, they may fail at the Beijing Olympics."

Fourth-placed Vijay Kumar from India, with a total score of 775.3 points was offered the bronze medal.