China's Zhou Yang (L), Liu Qiuhong (C) and Sun Linlin compete during the women's 1500m short track speed skating finals at the 24th World Winter Universiade in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 19, 2009. Zhou took the gold medal of the event. Liu won the silver medal while Sun got the bronze. [Guo Dayue/Xinhui]

Liu Qiuhong 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.

The first gold medal for China delighted the home crowd and the host skaters carried their Chinese flags crying out with excitement, and sped back into the center of the rink to receive the applause.