Among four events slated for Sunday, Chinese canoemen won three direct
berths in the finals of the canoe and kayak competitions at the Doha Asiad.
Liu Haitao, defending champion, enjoyed a comfortable win in the men's K1
1000m heats, finishing in 4 minutes and 12.770 seconds, nearly seven seconds
faster than second placed Aleksey Babadjanov of Uzbekistan. According to the
rules, Liu took a direct berth in Monday's finals.
"It was not so easy. The water is a bit funny. It is choppy andit moves. Also
we are not used to racing on salt water," Liu said.
Alike Liu, his teammate Yang Wenjun, reigning Olympic champion in the men's
C2 500m in Athens, led the way to win a final spot inthe men's C1 1000m.
"The heats are easy for me and I showed my normal form but the wind is
unfavourable for me," said Yang, who will turn 25 in 2008.
"I hope during the finals, the wind slows down and the currentsbecome
calmer." added he.
In the men's K2 1000m, Li Zhen and Lin Miao of China directly advanced into
the final, while in the men's C2 1000m, Ma Xiaojie and Huang Shaokun went
through heats and semis en route to the finals.
In the Busan Asian Games in 2002, China grabbed eight out of thirteen gold
medals on offer, Kazakhstan won three and the rest went to Uzbekistan.
Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan secured a place in all four 1,000m finals.
