Chinese sensation Wang Fei scored the opening victory in the
women's 3,000m speed skating for host China at the
6th Asian Winter Games in Changchun on Monday.
In the battle for the first gold of the Games, newly-crowned
Asian all-around champion Wang, among the last two to compete, came
in at four minutes 13.08 seconds to win the title, smashing the
previous Asian record of 4:15.86 by over two seconds.
"It was really unexpected," said a delighted deputy team leader
Li Ming. "We made thorough preparation for the competition and Wang
performed brilliantly today."
Japanese Masako Hozumi finished second in 4:15.42, also
surpassing the previous Asian best set by her compatriot Nani
Nemoto in 2005. Maki Tabata from Japan settled for bronze in
4:17.00.
Later, China clinched the top three spots in the women's 7.5km
biathlon as veteran Liu Xianying won the gold in 25 minutes 19.28
seconds with Kong Yingchao and Dong Xue second and third
respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)
