Tan Xikun's sketch of Yang Qian, the gold medalist in women's 10-meter air rifle at the Tokyo Olympics who celebrates her championship with a gesture that symbolizes love. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shanghai senior Tang Xinkun has captured the hearts of many with his 13 illustrations of Chinese athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The athletes include Yang Qian, a gold medalist in women's 10-meter air rifle competition, who is depicted celebrating her win with a heart-shaped gesture, Su Bingtian, the first Chinese sprinter to reach an Olympic 100m final, and Quan Hongchan, the 14-year-old gold medalist in the women's 10-meter platform diving competition.

"I like drawing and am also a sports lover. I was moved by the performances of these athletes and I wanted recreate their movements with my pencil," said the 60-year-old.

Tan Xinkun's sketch of Su bingtian, who finishes sixth in the men's 100-meter sprint final as the first Chinese athlete in the final at an Olympics. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tang started the series the day after the opening ceremony in July.

"I drew during my noon breaks and watched the Olympics at night after I got home. It took me less than one hour for each picture," said Tang, who works as the Party secretary of a neighborhood in Shanghai's Pudong New Area.

For Tang, the hobby has been a means of refreshing his mind after a day of working on matters related to vaccinations and garbage classification.

According to Tang, most of the pictures have been given to his friends. Three of his friends have also requested that he draw their portraits.

Tan's sketch of gold medalist Gong Lijiao, who competes in the women's shot put. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tang Xijing competes at the women's gymnastics qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. Shown on the left are the lyrics of her choice of the song for the performance. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Xu Shixiao (Left) and Sun Mengya compete during the women's canoe double 500m semifinal of canoe sprint at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Aug 7, 2021. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Han (right) and Shi Tingmao compete in the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard diving final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese cyclists Zhong Tianshi and Bao Shanju in action in the women's team sprint. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese diver Quan Hongchan competes in the women's 10-meter platform final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Su Bingtian (right) and Wu Zhiqiang in men's 4x100m relay final. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tan Xinkun's sketch of Sun Yingsha in her 4-0 semifinal victory against Japanese Mima Ito in the table tennis women's single event. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]