China wins medal table at ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poland

WARSAW -- China topped the medals tally with six gold, three silver and one bronze medals at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poznan, Poland on Sunday.

After a massive victory in the men's C2 500m, Liu Hao and Ji Bowen continued the momentum to capture the men's C2 1000m gold. The Chinese duo crossed the line in three minutes 42.13 seconds to beat Ukraine's Vitaliy Verheles and Andrii Rybachok and Poland's Kacper Siaradzan and Adrian Klos, who took second and third place respectively.

"I'm very happy. We have two gold medals but it's not easy. We are working hard as a team. We are ready for Paris 2024," Liu said in an interview for the official site of the competition.

China's Xu Shixiao and Sun Mengya, who turned out to be the best in the C2 women's 500m on Saturday, had a fantastic battle the day later in the C1 500m. Sun clocked 2:13.92 to beat compatriot Xu by just 0.18 seconds. Valeriia Tereta of Ukraine stood on the lowest podium.

"I made a mistake in the middle of the race but I did a great job. All the motivation comes from the team as we have had medals for so many years. I could not achieve this without the team and my partner. That is my biggest motivation," Sun was quoted as saying by the ICF website.

Sunday was the final day of the championship in Poznan. Hosts Poland, who ended second, claimed five gold medals. Germany finished in third position with four gold medals.