Chinese New Year celebrations are continuing as the country enters the year of the Dragon and readies itself for an exciting 2024 in paddling competition.
The People’s Republic of China is poised to host a series of big International Canoe Federation events in 2024.
Among those includes the first-ever ICF Super Cup that is set to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from October 11 and 13.
China hosting major ICF events
Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross, Canoe Polo and Canoe Marathon will form part of the multi-discipline competition which is due to inject new energy into the growth of paddle sport.
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Another major event taking place in China this year is the ICF Canoe Polo World Championships.
Deqing, Huzhou will host the world’s best Canoe Polo players from October 15 to 20 in what will be an historic event.
It will be the first time China has held the World Championships and mark 20 years since it was last staged in Asia, with Japan playing host in 2004.
An ICF Dragon Boat World Cup is also scheduled to be hosted in Yichang, China in 2024 with the exact dates yet to be confirmed.
Dragon Boat is set for an exciting season in the year of the Dragon, with the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships taking place in Puerto Princesa, Philippines from October 28 to November 4.
Who are the Chinese paddlers to watch in 2024?
Chinese paddlers will hope to roar on the big stage with the Paris 2024 Olympics to look forward to later this year.
A total of three golds and two silvers have been won by China in their Olympic canoeing history – a record they will be aiming to improve.
Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun will be seeking to defend the women’s C2 500 crown at Paris 2024 after breaking the Olympic record to triumph at Tokyo 2020.
They won a third successive world title in the event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in 2023 and emerged victorious at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
Wenjun Lin will be eyeing success in the women’s C1 200 at the Olympics having been crowned Asian Games champion last year and won bronze at the past two World Championships.
Two-time Olympic medallist Hao Liu is another proven performer at the Games having won two silvers at Tokyo 2020 and will be setting his sights on a medal in the men’s C2 500 in Paris after winning world silver in 2023 and bronze in 2022 alongside Bowen Ji.
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