Chinese mountain bike cyclists dominated the first day of the 13th Asian Mountain Bike Championships with two golds, booking two places for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Friday.
Li Ying clocked one hour 34 minutes and 44.386 seconds to take the gold of the women's cross-country, booking a berth in Beijing.
Her teammate Ren chenyuan won the silver, and the bronze medal went to national champion Wang Jingjing.
"My thigh got injured two days ago when I took my training here on the road. It still hurts, so I could not concentrate on the race," said Ren, the newly crowned world champion.
"In Asia, it is hard for us to find challenge. The only thing we felt difficult is the weather, it was really hot and humid, " added Ren.
Five women cyclists quit, and Malaysian cyclist Juss Junaidan was sent to hospital after the event.
"She has been released and is already in good condition," said her team manager Misnoh Amrun.
In men's events, Ji Jianhua of China won the gold in 1:40:33.115 as the silver medal went to his teammate Zhang Haitao in 1:41:47.362.
Chan Chun Hing clocked one hour 43 minutes and 15.527 seconds to win a bronze, which made him the first-ever Hong Kong mountain bike cyclist to qualify for the Olympic Games.
According to UCI rules, the cyclists who got the first two places of the Asian Championships would qualify for the Beijing Olympics, but the two cyclists must come from different countries or regions.
So Ji also won a berth for the Chinese team, while Chan benefited from the regulation.
Source: Xinhua
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