Huong tops Asian canoeing championship
VGP – Viet Nam won a gold medal from the 2024 Asian Canoe Sprint Championship on April 19 in Tokyo, Japan.
Diep Thi Huong of Viet Nam (centre) and her two runners-up pose for photos after the victory ceremony of the 2024 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships’ women’s C1 500m event on April 19 in Tokyo, Japan.
Diep Thi Huong overcame rivals from strong canoeing hubs such as Kazakhstan, South Korea and the hosts to be first in the women's C1 500m in a time of 2min 18.178sec at the Sea Forest Waterway.
Kisseleva Ulyana of Kazakhstan tried her best to catch up with Huong but she could only finish after 2:26.645, about eight seconds slower than the Vietnamese athlete.
Indian canoeist Megha Pradee came at third, clocking 2:28.027.
Hương, 23, will have chance for more medal when she is in pair with teammate Duong Anh Duc in the mixed C2 500m event in the next days.
The Asian championship is also the continental qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. However, the C1 500m and mixed C2 500m categories are not in the official sports list.
Viet Nam has representatives vying for Olympic spots in two events.
Multi-time SEA Games champion Nguyen Thi Huong shoulders heavy task as she will compete in the women's C1 200m. Days later, Huong and Nguyen Hong Thai will take part in the C2 500m.
The 19th Asian competitions will be held until April 21.
The 2024 Asian Paracanoe Sprint Championships will also be held parallelly in the same venue./.
