Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping of China won the first gold medal of the 19th Asian Games with a time of 7 minutes 6.78 seconds in the women's lightweight double sculls rowing event in Hangzhou on Sunday.
Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping won the first gold medal of the 19th Asian Games, with victory in the women's lightweight double sculls rowing event in Hangzhou, September 24, 2023. /CFP
They were followed by Uzbekistan rowers Luizakhon Islomova and Malika Tagmatova with a result of 7:16.49 and Chelsea Corputty and Mutiara Rahma Putri from Indonesia in 7:17.64.
Chinese rowers later won further gold medals in the men's lightweight double sculls, men's double sculls, men's eight, women's double sculls and women's four.
The rowing competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games consists of 14 events, seven men's and seven women's. China, which claimed nine gold medals and one silver in rowing at the last edition in Jakarta in 2018, has sent 37 rowers to Hangzhou, including 13 Tokyo Olympians.
Meanwhile, Team China added two more golds, in the 10m air rifle team women and men's Changquan in wushu.
(With input from Xinhua)