Chinese rowers shine on opening day of World Rowing Championships

Chinese rowers qualified for the quarterfinals in the men’s double sculls and pair and women’s single sculls on the first day of the World Rowing Championships on Sunday, while the men’s lightweight double sculls and single sculls will take part in the repechage.
China’s Liu Zhiyu and Zhang Liang qualified for the quarterfinals in the men’s double sculls by winning Heat 3 ahead of Italy, Lithuania, and Greece, while China’s men’s pair of Zhang Yuanze and Dou Xiaowei qualified fourth in Heat 4 behind Belarus, the United States and Romania.
China’s Liu Ruiqi finished second in the women’s single sculls Heat 2 race, behind New Zealand’s Emma Twigg, while Norway finished third.
Other Chinese competitors will have to fight their way through the repechage. Zhang Hanwen finished fifth in the men’s single sculls Heat 2 race, while the pair of Fan Junjie and Sun Man were also fifth in lightweight men’s double sculls Heat 4.
On the first competition day, both reigning Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece and reigning world champion Oliver Zeidler of Germany secured top positions in their men’s single sculls heats and progressed to the quarterfinals.
Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands, defending champion in the women’s single sculls, marked a tight victory over Serbia’s Jovana Arsic.
The 2023 World Rowing Championships take place in Belgrade until September 10.