Quan Xin in action during the men's canoe slalom final at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
China grabbed three of four golds in canoe slalom, with Chinese Taipei claiming the other.
HANGZHOU, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese canoeists Huang Juan and Quan Xin both posted error-free runs to win the last two slalom gold medals on offer at the 19th Asian Games here on Saturday.
Quan, 26, successfully defended the men's kayak title with a finish time of 89.24 seconds. The championship followed his strong 2022 season where he finished seventh at the World Championships and sixth in the World Cup.
Japan's Yuuki Tanaka finished second, while Wu Shao-hsuan from Chinese Taipei took the bronze.
"There was a little mistake in the semifinal this morning, but I adjusted my state in the final to win. Now I want to show the strength of Chinese kayak to the world at Paris 2024," Quan said after the match.
Huang Juan in action during the women's canoe slalom final. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
In the women's canoe, Huang's time of 107.71 was enough to secure her the crown. Despite having two seconds in gate penalties, Anastassiya Ananyeva of Kazakhstan managed to place second overall. Japan's Haruka Okazaki settled for bronze.
"This is my first Asian Games, and winning the gold is the most satisfying result. I felt a bit nervous today, but I heard the loud shout from the audience, which gave me strength to win," Huang said.
China raked in three of four golds in the canoe slalom competition, with Chinese Taipei pocketing the other one. ■