Asian Rowing Championships: Chiu provides golden end to competition for Hong Kong, as city’s team finishes third overall
- Chiu Hin-chun wins lightweight single sculls on last day of competition in Thailand
- Gold was Hong Kong’s sixth medal of the week, enough for them to finish third behind China and Vietnam
Chiu Hin-chun bagged another gold at the Asian Rowing Championships in Thailand on Sunday, propelling Hong Kong into third in the medal table.
The city champion’s triumph in the lightweight single sculls was the team’s sixth medal of the week.
Chiu led from start to finish in rough conditions, crossing the line in 7 minutes and 44.910 seconds, ahead of Iraq’s Mohammed Al-Khafaji in 7:47.755 and Iran’s Mahmoodpour Shahrestani Amirhossein, who won bronze in the single sculls on Saturday, in 7:51.173.
“This year has been like a roller coaster for me,” the 28-year-old Chiu said. “After the disappointing result in the World Championships in September, my confidence was completely destroyed.”
Chiu, who won a silver medal in the same event at the 2018 Asian Games but was 25th in the lightweight men’s doubles at the World Championships this year, said his rivals at the regional championships would be his main challengers at next year’s Asian Games.
“The standard is higher than expected, and I’m happy to win a gold medal to boost my confidence,” Chiu said. “I found that not only China, but other Asian countries raised their bar in the last two years.”
Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun, who finished third in the previous edition in 2019, won the men’s pairs in 7:25.601.
Hong Kong’s women have won three medals, with the Tokyo Olympian Winne Hung Wing-yan and partner Wong Sheung-yee taking silver in the lightweight doubles sculls, while Leung Wing-wun was second in the lightweight single sculls.
“It’s my first Asian Championships medal, and it’s a confidence booster for me because I know my position among the Asians after this race,” Hung said. “I have a clearer picture of what to improve now.”
Wong Lok-yiu, Cheung Hoi-lam, Hui Wing-ki, and Leung King-wan finished third in the women’s fours, with Hong Kong claiming three gold, two silver and one bronze over the course of the championships.
China topped the medal table with four gold and five silver, followed by Vietnam with four gold and two bronze.
“Everyone wants to test the waters in Thailand, and most them will be our opponents in the Hangzhou Asian Games,” Kenny Wu Juning, the Hong Kong head coach, said. “The results are within my expectations, and we expect an even stronger team next year.”
