Taiwan wins 1st gold at Asian Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 Championships

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) Taiwanese canoeist Tsai Shu-han (蔡舒涵) made history on Sunday by winning Taiwan's first-ever gold medal at the 2024 Asian Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 Championships, which were held this year in Pattaya, Thailand.

Tsai competed in the junior women's single canoe (C1) 200 meters event at the championships, which took place from June 12-16, and secured the gold medal.

Tsai, who took three golds at Taiwan's 2024 National Middle School Athletic Games in April this year, continued her momentum after defeating her opponents from countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and South Korea on Sunday.

The junior canoeist is currently enrolled at the National Shui-Li Vocational High School of Commerce and Industry in Nantou County.

The rowing prodigy initially focused on kayaking after she began rowing in eighth grade. She only switched to canoeing after entering high school.

Tsai attributed her breakthrough to the support of her family.

Aside from Tsai, other Taiwanese teen athletes also contributed to the nation's medal haul at the 2024 event in Thailand.

On Saturday, 16-year-old kayaker Hsieh Chia-cheng (謝家承) took home a silver medal after competing with athletes above his age group in the U23 men's single-person kayak (K1) 1,000 meters event.

Meanwhile, Huang Chun-chieh (黃俊杰) and Lin Han-you (林翰佑) together raked in a pair of bronze medals in the junior men's double paddlers kayak (K2) 500 meters event.

Taiwan's third bronze medal was won by teen kayaker Tseng Li-tsen (曾俐岑) in the junior women's singles kayak (K1) 500 meters event.