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China and SKorea share medals on 1st day

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-19 22:23

HARBIN, Heilongjiang Province -- Two powerhouses China and South Korea did not leave any room for other teams in the medal tally of the short track speed skating as they split all the medals on the opening day of the competition at the 24th Harbin Universiade here on Thursday.

Lee Sang Hwa (C) of South Korea shows the mascot Dong Dong of the game with China's Yu Jing (L) and Zhang Shuang during the awarding ceremony of women's 500m speed skating finals at the 24th World Winter Universiade in the Heilongjiang Speed Skating Gym of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 19, 2009. Lee Sang Hwa claimed the title in the event, the first gold medal of the Winter Universiade. Yu and Zhang took the silver and bronze respectively. [Xinhua]

In the women's 1500m final, the 18-year-old Zhou Yang took the first gold medal for the host China in Harbin as her compatriots Liu Qiuhong and Sun Linlin collected the silver and bronze to upset other three South Koreans.

Full Coverage:  24th Winter Universiade Related readings:  China claims her first gold at Harbin Universiade  Lee of South Korea wins Harbin Universiade's first gold  Police secure safety of Winter Universiade  Foreign aid provides crowning touch to Harbin Universiade

South Korea rallied in the men's 1500m final to sweep all the medals with Lee Seung Hoon winning the gold with a time of 2:18.016.

"I think I will became popular in my country since I won the gold here, but my next target is to become a key skater in the national team and win the gold medal in the Winter Olympics one day," said the 21-year-old Lee.

Lee's compatriot Kim Seoung Il grabbed the silver at 2:18.203 while Yun Tae Sik claimed the bronze with 2:18.511.

In the women's 1500m final, Zhou, top skater in the world rankings, met almost no challenge as she started to lead the group with four laps left, finishing with a time of 2:31.658.

"We trust each other and the gold medal is the result of the teamwork," said the 18-year-old Zhou at the press conference.

"If I had known that it was the first gold for China, I would have been very nervous on the rink," she added.

"South Koreans are very strong in the 1500m event and I am proud that my girls could break their monopoly today," said the team leader Wang Chunlu.

Liu finished with the silver at 2:31.821 while Sun Linlin took the bronze, timed at 2:32.201. "In the World Cups or World Championships, South Koreans often win the gold medal in the long-distance events. Today's victory will give us more confidence when we face South Koreans in the future," said Liu.

"Girls did not perform as well as we had expected, but we will start to show our ability with the competition going on," said Song Jae Kun,the head coach in South Korea team.

The short track speed skating competitions, slated for February 19-23, attracts 58 male skaters and 45 female skaters from 18 countries and regions.