Did Germany Dominate Canoe Polo While China Swept Speed Climbing Relay?

Chengdu, China, Aug 16 (NationPress) - On an exhilarating Day 10 at the World Games, Germany showcased its prowess in canoe polo, while the host nation, China, achieved an impressive sweep of gold medals in the speed climbing relay and secured its first gold in roller sports.

Germany's strength in canoe polo was evident as they clinched both the men's and women's gold medals. In the women's final, Germany faced a resilient New Zealand team early on, but with strategic play, they broke the deadlock to lead 1-0.

Post-halftime, Germany maintained their dominance, adding three more goals to finalize a 4-0 victory, as reported by Xinhua.

In the men's final, Germany took advantage of two swift counterattacks in the first half, establishing a 2-0 lead. This early advantage proved crucial as they triumphed over Italy with a score of 3-1 to secure another gold medal.

Team manager Lukas Enzo Richter stated, "We have a really strong German league, the best in the world. Every player, regardless of gender, aspires to play here, attracting top national team players from across Europe, enhancing the league's excellence."

Meanwhile, the climbing events concluded with China dominating the speed relay finals, achieving five out of six available gold medals.

This relay format, making its debut at an international level, pairs two athletes per team. The second climber can only start after the first reaches the timing pad at the top, and their combined time determines the outcome. Chengdu's competition also marked the establishment of the first men's and women's world records in this new discipline.

The men's semifinals featured elite athletes, including American Samuel Watson, the individual world record holder, and teammate Zachary Hammer, facing China's Chu Shouhong and Long Jianguo, both fresh from individual golds. Despite Watson's clean run, Hammer slipped, allowing the Chinese duo to advance to the finals.

In the finals, they faced another U.S. pair, Michael Hom and Logan Schlecht. Both teams performed flawlessly, but Chu and Long clinched victory in 10.26 seconds, each earning their second gold of the Games.

Watson and Hammer rebounded to defeat Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo and Alfian Muhammad Fajri for bronze, setting a world record of 10.06 seconds.

In roller sports, Zhang Hao achieved China's first gold in inline freestyle skating. In an all-Chinese men's speed slalom final, he bested Fu Yu 2-0, while Reza Lesani of Iran secured bronze.

Zhang expressed, "I'm thrilled to showcase my usual performance," admitting he felt nervous competing at home.

In women's speed slalom, Liu Chiao-Hsi from Chinese Taipei took gold, with Zhu Siyi and Wen Jingjing from China finishing second and third. Zhu, a silver medalist at the 19th Asian Games, remarked, "This is my first international competition since I turned 18, and I gave it my all," expressing her commitment to improving her strength and stability.

In speed slalom, athletes must accelerate over 12 meters before navigating through 20 cones set 80 centimeters apart, incurring a penalty of 0.2 seconds for any knocked-down cones or missed intervals.

The roller sports segment of the Chengdu World Games includes three disciplines: speed skating (road and track), inline freestyle, and inline hockey. Two additional freestyle skating gold medals will be awarded on Sunday.