By Umedjon Yunusaliev (OCA Young Reporter from Tajikistan)
Wenzhou, China, October 5, 2023: Among the many competitions at the 19th Asian Games, co-host city Wenzhou had the honour of hosting the colourful and traditional sport of dragon boat racing.
The atmosphere at the Wenzhou Dragon Boat Centre was one of excitement and celebration, and all the spectators cheered their country's teams with noise and applause. It was a very festive and friendly occasion.
The first two events on Wednesday, October 4 - the first day of the three-day competition - were men’s dragon boat 200m and women’s dragon boat 200m.
China, Thailand and Indonesia claimed gold, silver and bronze in the men’s event, and China, Indonesia and Thailand finished 1-2-3 in the women’s final. These results showed that dragon boat racing was very popular in south-east Asia.
The second day brought the longer races, of 500m for men and women in teams of 12.
Once again, China took both gold medals. Indonesia and Thailand won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s race, while in the women’s grand final, China was followed home by Indonesia and Myanmar - once again proving the strength of the SEA region teams.
In China, where there are many lakes and rivers, rowers here have trained a lot and prepared well for the Asian Games. This hard training was particularly evident in the strong finishes of the Chinese teams to hold off their determined rivals.