China's Xie wins men's canoe at Hangzhou Asiad

Xie Yuancong competes in the men's canoe final at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Oct. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

China's Xie Yuancong took a surprising gold in the men's canoe, while Li Lu missed out on the women's kayak title at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

HANGZHOU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Xie Yuancong won gold in the men's canoe at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday.

Xie had a tight battle with Anvar Klevleev of Uzbekistan for the crown, ultimately making it to the top podium in 98.20 seconds with no penalty.

"I have always believed in myself, from being third in the preliminaries, second in the semifinals, to now being first in the final. Now I'm very, very excited, and I've been waiting for this for a very long time," the 30-year-old said.

"Because the canoe double was taken out of the Olympic Games, I have to keep practicing canoe single and gradually improved step by step. On future plans, the main thing for me is to prepare for the Asian Championships, as it is related to Olympic qualifications, so I need to continue to be well-prepared," he added.

Li Lu, Chang Chu-han and Yekaterina Tarantseva (L to R) pose with their medals after the women's kayak, Oct. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

Chang Chu-han of Chinese Taipei took gold in the women's kayak, 0.71 seconds clear of former Asian champion Li Lu of China, while Yekaterina Tarantseva of Kazakhstan took third place.

"I never thought I could win a gold medal because I encountered so many difficulties in the past few days. I am so happy that I was able to persist," Chang said.

The finals of the men's kayak and women's canoe will be held on Saturday, with the last two gold medals on offer at the Fuyang Water Sports Center. ■