Ren Ziwei delivered a masterclass at the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track Speed Skating World Cup event in the Japanese city of Nagoya by winning China's first individual gold of this campaign on Sunday.

The Chinese Olympic silver medalist, who finished second in the men's 1,500m final earlier, came out on top in a thrilling men's 1,000m race with 1 minute 26.297 seconds, outclassing Dutchman Itzhak de Laat and Canadian Dion Pascal.

Ren had been China's least impressive skater in the World Cup event in Beijing a week ago, but vindicated his retention with an outstanding performance in Japan. The 24-year-old wrapped up the hard-fought competition with one gold and three silver medals, propelling himself to second in the overall season standings. 

In the men's 5,000m relay final, Canada came from behind to win an incredible tight race with 6 minutes, 52.272 seconds, just ahead of China (6:52.285) and Hungary (6:52.386).  

It's a similar tale in the mixed 2,000m relay as Team China finished second with 2:43.460. Russia prevented China from winning a second consecutive World Cup gold in this event by claiming the gold in 2:43.202. Hungary pocketed bronze in 2:43.458. 

The biggest concern for China, however, is their talisman Wu Dajing's uncharacteristic poor form. The 27-year-old PyeongChang Olympic champion suffered a huge blow after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's 500m race. 

The setback was followed by another disappointment in Beijing leg last week as the Chinese world record holder was disqualified from the men's 500m race final after making a false start.

With less than 100 days to go until the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Wu has to rediscover his mojo as soon as possible. His next chance to rejuvenate could be a star turn in Debrecen. The Hungarian city will stage the third World Cup event of the season on November 18.