By Lai Yuhong and Zhang Hao
MOSCOW, Sept. 7 -- The International Army Games (IAG) 2020 wrapped up on Sept. 5 with the closing ceremony taking place in the Patriot Park near Moscow on Saturday. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu attended the ceremony and announced the official closing of the IAG.
Before the IAG’s closing ceremony, as the grand finale of IAG 2020, the final contest of the Tank Biathlon was held at the Alabino shooting range. The Chinese team won the runner-up of the event. The final contest was a relay race in which the tasks of driving and shooting were relayed among three groups of crew members from each participating team and only one tank was available. The Chinese team hit all 24 targets in the shooting contest.
The Russian team won the championship with a time record of 1' 28'' 53’’’, and the Chinese team won the runner-up with 1’ 29’’ and 29’’’.
In the Army Scout Masters event wrapping up at the Novosibirsk Military Command Academy, Russia on September 3, the Chinese team took the third place among all eight teams. Russia and Uzbekistan ranked first and second respectively.
The IAG 2020 was held from August 23 to September 5 in Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. A total of 156 teams from more than 30 countries and regions participated in the IAG, and the number of competitors exceeded 5,000.
China sent six teams with more than 260 troops to participate in six events held in Russia, namely, the Army Scout Masters, Tank Biathlon, Safe Environment, Open Water, Masters of Armored Vehicles, and Airborne Platoon. The six Chinese teams won first places in four individual contests, four runner-ups and two third-places in team events.