Self-belief helps HK rower win gold at Asian Games

Hong Kong, China rower Chiu Hin-chun on Sunday said that self-belief paved his way to gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya. He topped the podium at lightweight men’s single sculls with a time of six minutes and 50.32 seconds on Thursday. This was his first gold medal at the Games after taking silver in Jakarta in 2018 and bronze in Hangzhou in 2023. He noted that South Korea’s Park Hyun-su – who took bronze this time in Japan – bagged gold when they competed together in Indonesia back then. “At that time, I knew I [was] able to get the champion, but I lacked experience in the major games, so I felt a bit pity for that,” he said. “Hence, I told myself I have to win it back if I have a chance, so I would say my revenge is very successful this time.” Even though Chiu was second at the half way mark, he made a decisive move in the final 1,000 metres to win the race by more than two seconds. Apart from focusing on his strokes and race plan, Chiu attributed the win to his mentality and training, particularly in scenarios where he was falling behind. “We well-trained our mind to...