Asian Games | China finishes canoe sprint with eight golds, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Japan also medal

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China swept all three canoe sprint events it entered on the final day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, capping its campaign with eight gold medals and two silvers.

Racing in rainy conditions, Wang Nan won the women's K1 500 meters in one minute, 55.999 seconds, finishing 1.770 seconds ahead of the Uzbek runner-up.

"I executed the tactics set by my coach very well today, and the whole race was under my control," Wang said.

She added that she had wished for a smooth race while celebrating her birthday a day earlier.

"Now that wish has come true, so I am very happy," she said.

China added two more titles in the mixed doubles events. Wu Shengyue and Ma Yanan won the mixed C2 500m in 1:48.377, ahead of Uzbekistan's Vladlen Denisov and Nilufar Zokirova, who took silver in 1:49.674. Kazakhstan's Sergey Yemelyanov and Rufina Iskakova finished third in 1:51.124.

Denisov was among Uzbekistan's leading performers in the sprint competition, having also taken silver in the men's C1 500m earlier in the Games.

In the mixed K2 500m, Li Chenhao and Zhang Luxi gave China its third gold of the day in 1:39.444. South Korea's Choi Minkyu and Seon Minju took silver in 1:40.349, while Japan's Rin Fukuda and Akihiro Inoue claimed bronze in 1:40.720.

Ma said she had trained with her mixed doubles partner immediately after completing the women's doubles event on Friday because of the differences between the two races.

"I am very satisfied to win my second gold medal at these Asian Games, and it has also given me a lot of confidence," she said.

"We finished with an excellent result of eight golds and two silvers. The eight gold medals have further strengthened the athletes' confidence as they prepare for the Los Angeles Olympics," said Li Xin, deputy team leader of China's canoe sprint squad.

Li said the two silver-medal events showed no clear gap in strength between China and its rivals, adding that the team still needed to

improve their attention to detail in pre-race preparation, mental adjustment and tactical planning through winter training and next season.

Canoe slalom events will begin on Sept. 29.