Young Chinese skater Wang Meng won the women's 1,500m gold medal at the season-opening World Cup short track speed skating tournament on Friday in Harbin, the capital city of China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province, with Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States finishing first on the men's side.

Coming up from second place when there were two laps to go, 19-year-old Wang clocked two minutes 27.619 seconds in the 13-lap race to secure the first ever victory of the 2004/05 season for China.

"I didn't expect to win today," said the young champion, who is considered the rising star of China of the short track. "I haven't beaten the South Koreans in the 1,500 meters before. Today's victory has given me a great deal of confidence."

Choi Eun-kyung from South Korea, the traditional short track speed skating power, finished second just 0.002 seconds later with her compatriot Kang Yun-mi coming third at the time of two minutes 27.694 seconds.

In the men's final, South Korean Song Kyung-taek led most of the laps before Ohno sprinted past with just two laps left. Ohno won the race in two minutes 22.270 seconds. South Korean Ahn Hyun-soo was the runner-up with two minutes 22.414 seconds. Chinese veteran Li Jiajun finished third with two minutes 22.656 seconds.

In the relay race qualifier which finished earlier, China's women's relay team, which was led by veteran Winter Olympic gold medallist Yang Yang (A), finished first with the time of 4 minutes 23.267 seconds in the women's 3,000 meters relay. China's men's team finished second after South Korea in men's 5,000 meters relay and also go forward to the semi-finals.

It was the first time Yang took part in an international competition after one year away studying in the United States. Her return to the ice gives strong support to the young skaters in the national team.

"Before the final, she told us a lot about her experiences competing with the South Koreans, which has benefited us a lot." said newly crowned Wang.

Head coach Xin Qingshan was satisfied with the results.

"Wang performed well in the competition today," commented Xin. "She has increased her abilities a lot recently."

(China Daily October 23, 2004)