SINGAPORE: On Tuesday, October 3, Kayaker Stephenie Chen won a gold medal in the 500-meter race, making Singapore’s best performance to date at the Asian Games.
Due to this, Singapore’s first-ever award at the inaugural meet was won by Mervyn Toh in the K1 – 200m event during the 2018 version in Palembang.
Chen finished second in her warmth on Sunday, earning a direct ticket to the championship, but she finished fourth-fastest in the finals.
However, the 31-year-old signaled first intent on Tuesday night at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, by shooting out of the stones and holding the prospect for more than half the competition.
The domestic favorite won the gold medal in 1:58.931s with just a late surge from Li Dongyin of China, with Chen coming in second at nbsp, 2:00.074. Hediye Kazemi of Iran came in third at 2:00.635.
Chen will still be proud of her gold medal, having placed fifth in the K1-200m in 2018 and just missing copper in her other event, this year’s K2-500m.
The Singaporean has competed in Southeast Asian Games five times and has represented her nation since 2009.
Lucas Teo, a partner of hers, finished second in the K1 – 1000m last on Monday before joining forces with Brandon Ooi to finish in sixth place overall.
Daniel Koh, Kendrick Ang, Sean Teo, and Jovi Jayden Kalai Kaleichelvan are also competing in Singapore’s 500-meter closing on Tuesday.