On the morning of September 24th, the first gold medal of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou was born in Fuyang Water Sports Center. Zou Jiaqi/Qiu Xiuping, a girl from China, won the women’s rowing lightweight double sculls in 7 minutes 06.78 seconds, which was also the first gold medal in this Asian Games. This gold medal is only a small step towards the goal in the hearts of these two girls. Their higher goal is the Paris Olympic Games next year.
There is no suspense to win the first gold medal
Less than 6 o’clock in the morning, two girls from China, Qiu Xiuping and Zou Jiaqi, and their coach Cao Mianying, who competed for the first gold medal in the Asian Games-rowing women’s lightweight double sculls, have already arrived at the stadium. Cao Mianying forgot to eat, and after some arrangement, the two girls from China put themselves into the preparations for the competition. Just after 7 o’clock, they started jogging, then returned to the boathouse and began to warm up under the leadership of the physical trainer.
Their warm-up movements are very detailed, including the activities and pulling of legs, arms and main joints, which lasted for about half an hour. Then the two girls carried their rowing boats out of the boathouse, with firm expressions and brisk steps towards the dock. “Both of them are very young and very promising.” Coach Cao Mianying, who has trained excellent rowers such as Xu Dongxiang, said, “There is no problem today. Their goals are even higher and they hope to achieve good results in the Paris Olympic Games next year. “
After the rowing boat was launched, although the back was facing the forward direction, the two girls controlled the direction with ease. In the process of rowing to the channel, they just shook their oars gently at first, and the oars stirred up ripples like dragonflies on the water. When they arrived at the designated position in the water, the two girls worked together. With the increase of the movement range, the rowing boat rowed faster and faster, just like an arrow that left the string.
This arrow-like speed soon appeared in the final which started at 9 o’clock. Two girls from China, located in the third lane, quickly took the lead after a brief stalemate with other opponents in the starting stage. At first, Iran in the fourth lane and Uzbekistan in the fifth lane have not been thrown away. However, after 500 meters, the two girls from China, with their tacit cooperation, have gained the advantage of a boat. By the time they finished the 1,000-meter dash, the second-placed Iranian team had been thrown away for 5.41 seconds, and the rhythm of the Iranian team was disrupted due to their efforts to keep up with China in the first 1,000 meters, and then the speed of the 1,000-meter dash dropped, and finally they only ranked fifth.
China girls’ speed was very stable: 1500m, they extended their advantage to 8.22 seconds, and finally won the championship by 9.71 seconds. “My heart is overwhelming!” Zou Jiaqi said, “This is my first Asian Games, and it is at home. I am very excited to win the first gold medal. I grew up on the Fuchun River, and I grew up drinking Fuchun River water. I am very, very happy to win the championship here. ” Qiu Xiuping, her partner, is equally emotional. “I have been rowing for ten years. This is the first time my parents came to the scene to watch my game. When I saw them in the stands, I was very excited and a little moved. Full of strength.”
Rowing has won many gold medals.
Women’s lightweight double sculls has always been the dominant event of China rowing team, and it has always been the cooperation of athletes from Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces. In the 2012 London Olympic Games, China team won the silver medal in this event by Zhejiang famous Xu Dongxiang and Guangdong famous Huang Wenyi. In the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Huang Wenyi’s partner was replaced by Zhejiang athlete Pan Feihong, who won the third place in the Olympic Games twice.
However, with the retirement of veteran, China rowing needs new strength to carry the Olympic hope of this event. In this context, Zou Jiaqi, a post-00 generation from Zhejiang Province, formed a new combination with Qiu Xiuping, a Guangdong player born in 1999, and won the Asian Championships held in Rayong, Thailand at the end of 2021. In 2022, they won the second place in Belgrade World Cup. Now, this pair of China girls have got tickets for the Paris Olympic Games. Qiu Xiuping is full of confidence in next year’s Olympic Games. She said, “My goal is to stand on the highest podium!”