Yang Wenjun, Olympic champion in Men's C2 500m at the 2004 Olympic Games, bagged two silver medals at the ICF Guangzhou Canoe World Cup on Saturday.

This was the first time that a Canoe World Cup was held in China. On home soil, Yang's biggest wish was to beat Opalev Maxim of Russia but his hope was dashed as he had a late charge.

Yang finished the race in one minute and 52.055 seconds, while Maxim crossed the finish line in 1: 51.692.

In previous world major regattas, Yang never defeated Maxim, including last month's World Championships, in which they took bronze and gold respectively.

"I really wanna beat him," Yang said. "But today's wind is favorable for him. Anyway, I have been gradually shortening our gap."

However, Maxim ignored Yang's words.

"There is no wind at all. It has nothing to do with wind. I knew he wanted to beat me but I had the final say."

Yang's another silver came from Men's C4 500m. Belarus notched first place, and another Chinese quartet stood third.

Nine events had finals on Saturday, in which China captured two golds, five silvers and one bronze.

Zhong Hongyan, contributor to the two gold medals successively in Women's K4 500m and Women's K1 500m.

"I'm anxious to play well on home soil," said world champion Zhong. "I had a better rhythm than others and I did improve my skills after Josef Capousek came as our head coach."

In the world championships in August, Zhong secured a third place, which was another China's best.

"I need to pay more attention to my skills and physical ability," Zhong added, eyeing for a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Source: Xinhua