HANGZHOU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Xie Yuancong won gold in the Men's Canoe at Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday.

Xie Yuancong of Team China competes in the Canoe Slalom Men's Canoe Final of the 19th Asian Games at Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, 6 October 2023.

Anvar Klevleev of Team Uzbekistan competes in the Canoe Slalom Men's Canoe Final, 6 October 2023.

Xie had a tight battle with Anvar Klevleev of Uzbekistan for the crown, ultimately making it to the top podium in 98.20 seconds with no penalty.

"I have always believed in myself, from being third in the preliminaries, second in the semifinals, to now being first in the final. Now I'm very, very excited, and I've been waiting for this for a very long time," the 30-year-old said.

"Because the Canoe Double was taken out of the Olympic Games, I have to keep practicing Canoe Single and gradually improve step by step. On future plans, the main thing for me is to prepare for the Asian Championships, as it is related to Olympic qualifications, so I need to continue to be well-prepared," he added.

Chang Chu-han of Chinese Taipei took gold in the Women's Kayak, 0.71 seconds clear of former Asian champion Li Lu of China, while Yekaterina Tarantseva of Kazakhstan took third place.

Chang Chu-Han of Team Chinese Taipei competes in the Canoe Slalom Women's Kayak Individual Final of the 19th Asian Games at Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, 6 October 2023.

Li Lu of Team China competes in the Canoe Slalom Women's Kayak Individual Final, 6 October 2023.

Yekaterina Tarantseva of Team Kazakhstan competes in the Canoe Slalom Women's Kayak Individual Final, 6 October 2023.

"I never thought I could win a gold medal because I encountered so many difficulties in the past few days. I am so happy that I was able to persist," Chang said.

The finals of the Men's Kayak and Women's Canoe will be held on Saturday, with the last two gold medals on offer at Fuyang Water Sports Centre.