China's Lin, Li progress to canoe sprint finals at Hangzhou Asiad

Li Dongyin of China competes during the women's kayak single 500m heat of canoe sprint at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

Chinese paddlers continued their momentum in canoe sprint to enter the Asiad finals.

HANGZHOU, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Lin Wenjun and Li Dongyin of China advanced to the finals in their respective disciplines of the Asian Games' canoe sprint competition on Sunday.

Lin, who took the world titles in the women's C2 200m and C4 500m in Duisburg, crossed the line first in her women's canoe single 200m heat with a distant result of 50.999 seconds, beating second-placed Nguyen Thi Huong of Vietnam by 2.438 seconds and advancing to Monday's final.

Another Chinese Li Dongyin also booked a ticket to the final in the women's kayak single 500m, clocking 2:06.325 to finish first in Sunday's heats.

Bu Tingkai (1st L), Wang Congkang (2nd L), Zhang Dong (2nd R, rear) and Dong Yi (1st R, rear) of China compete during the men's kayak four 500m heat on Oct. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

In the men's kayak four 500m, Zhang Dong, Bu Tingkai, Wang Congkang and Dong Yi of China finished first in 1:25.440 to qualify directly for the final. Japan finished second and Kazakhstan third in the same heat, also booking a berth in the final.

The canoe and kayak competitions, generating 12 gold medals, run from September 30 to October 3 at Fuyang Water Sports Center.