Asian Games 2026 canoe slalom results: Zhang Zhicheng wins C1 by 21 seconds, Kurumi Ito takes K1 gold
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- 2026-10-01T09:28:49+00:00
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- PaddleStats
Full competition results: Asian Games 2026 - Canoe Slalom
China's Zhang Zhicheng won the men's C1 canoe slalom final at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday 1 October, on the Yahagigawa course in Toyota, by 21.00 seconds from silver medallist Wu Jung-cheng of Chinese Taipei. Half an hour later Japan's Kurumi Ito took the women's K1 title, and Hangzhou champion Chang Chu-han of Chinese Taipei finished fourth.
Four of the six events at the Asian Games 2026 canoe slalom are now decided. China has three of the four golds, after Hu Zhaoshan (men's K1) and Huang Juan (women's C1) won on Wednesday. Kazakhstan has a bronze in three of the four events. Kayak cross closes the programme on Friday.
Asian Games 2026 canoe slalom medal table: China has three golds after four finals
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Thailand | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Chinese Taipei | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Kazakhstan's three bronzes came from Alexandr Korobov in the men's K1, Anastassiya Ananyeva in the women's C1 and Yekaterina Tarantseva in the women's K1. Thailand has two medals: Atcharaporn Duanglawa's women's C1 silver and Piyanath Koetsuk's men's C1 bronze. Wu Jung-cheng won Chinese Taipei's first canoe slalom medal of these Games.
Zhang Zhicheng scored a clean 98.09 in the final. Kurumi Ito won the women's K1 with 107.60, including one 2-second touch, 4.10 seconds ahead of China's Chen Lin.
A slalom score is the run time plus penalties: 2 seconds for touching a gate pole and 50 seconds for missing a gate. Each country could send only one athlete to each final. All figures come from the organiser's official result sheets.
Men's C1: Zhang Zhicheng wins all three rounds
Zhang Zhicheng had the best score in the heats (103.10), the semi-final (101.45) and the final (98.09). He also had the fastest time on the water in every round. He took 4 seconds of penalties in the heats, 2 in the semi-final and none in the final. In the final he started eighth of eight, so he knew every rival's score before he set off.
The man closest to him on the water was Uzbekistan's Anvar Klevleev, the Hangzhou silver medallist. Klevleev covered the course in 98.37, only 0.28 seconds slower than Zhang, but missed gate 20. The 50-second penalty dropped him to fourth with 148.37.
Kazakhstan's Alexandr Kulikov, bronze medallist in 2018 and 2023, had the third-fastest time (104.52). He missed gate 18 and finished fifth with 156.52. On time alone the podium would have been Zhang, Klevleev and Kulikov.
Chinese Taipei's Wu Jung-cheng took silver with 119.09: 113.09 on the water plus 6 seconds for three touches. Thailand's Piyanath Koetsuk won bronze with 121.68 (117.68 plus 4 seconds of penalties). Koetsuk was only eighth in the semi-final and reached the final because only one athlete per country could reach the final, and Japan's Shota Saito (sixth) and Chinese Taipei's Chang Fu-hua (seventh) each had a teammate ahead of them. The day before, Koetsuk had finished eighth in the men's K1 final.
Japan's Kazuya Adachi, the K1 silver medallist from 2018, was fourth in the C1 semi-final with a clean 108.77. In the final he picked up 58 seconds of penalties and placed sixth.
Men's C1 final results
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Penalties (s) | Score | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhang Zhicheng | CHN | 98.09 | 0 | 98.09 | — |
| 2 | Wu Jung-cheng | TPE | 113.09 | 6 | 119.09 | +21.00 |
| 3 | Piyanath Koetsuk | THA | 117.68 | 4 | 121.68 | +23.59 |
| 4 | Anvar Klevleev | UZB | 98.37 | 50 | 148.37 | +50.28 |
| 5 | Alexandr Kulikov | KAZ | 104.52 | 52 | 156.52 | +58.43 |
| 6 | Kazuya Adachi | JPN | 108.85 | 58 | 166.85 | +68.76 |
| 7 | Ade Yoan Sutanto | INA | 155.70 | 54 | 209.70 | +111.61 |
| 8 | Lee Jeongsub | KOR | 173.18 | 304 | 477.18 | +379.09 |
Women's K1: Kurumi Ito takes the title back to Japan
Kurumi Ito was third in the heats with 116.64, including 6 seconds of penalties. In the semi-final she went clean in 103.84, the best score of the whole women's K1 event. In the final she was again fastest on the water (105.60) and touched only gate 15.
Chen Lin won silver for China with 111.70 (107.70 plus 4 seconds for two touches). Bronze went to Kazakhstan's Yekaterina Tarantseva, the only finalist without a penalty. Her 112.23 earned a second straight Asian Games bronze. In the heats she had placed eighth after missing gate 20.
Penalties decided the bronze. Chang Chu-han, the 2023 champion and 2018 bronze medallist, was 2.75 seconds faster on the water than Tarantseva (109.48 against 112.23). She touched two gates and finished fourth, 1.25 seconds off the podium. Chang had won the heats with a clean 109.58.
Japan's Aki Yazawa, the 2018 K1 champion, did not reach the final. She was third in the semi-final with a clean 106.88, but only one Japanese paddler could go through, and Ito was ahead of her. On Wednesday Yazawa finished fourth in the women's C1.
Women's K1 final results
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Penalties (s) | Score | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurumi Ito | JPN | 105.60 | 2 | 107.60 | — |
| 2 | Chen Lin | CHN | 107.70 | 4 | 111.70 | +4.10 |
| 3 | Yekaterina Tarantseva | KAZ | 112.23 | 0 | 112.23 | +4.63 |
| 4 | Chang Chu-han | TPE | 109.48 | 4 | 113.48 | +5.88 |
| 5 | Kadek Sintha | INA | 147.84 | 2 | 149.84 | +42.24 |
| 6 | Jaruwan Niamthong | THA | 110.67 | 54 | 164.67 | +57.07 |
| 7 | Shikha Chouhan | IND | 139.31 | 54 | 193.31 | +85.71 |
| 8 | Enkhjargal Tsogt | MGL | 64.33 | 1002 | 1066.33 | +958.73 |
Penalties in the finals: they reshaped the C1 podium and settled the K1 bronze
Zhang was the only clean paddler in the men's C1 final. Five of the eight finalists missed at least one gate: Klevleev (gate 20), Kulikov (18), Adachi (14), Sutanto (21) and Lee Jeongsub, who missed the last six gates, 18 to 23. The silver and bronze medallists only touched poles. Wu Jung-cheng had the fifth-fastest time on the water and Koetsuk the sixth.
In the women's K1 final the top four missed no gates. On run time alone only third and fourth among them would have swapped. Ito was 2.10 seconds faster on the water than Chen Lin and extended the gap with one touch to Chen's two. Mongolia's Enkhjargal Tsogt had the shortest run time of the final (64.33) but missed 20 of the 23 gates and placed eighth with 1066.33.
Men's C1 goes to China for the second Games running
China has now won the men's C1 at two Games in a row, with Xie Yuancong in 2023 and Zhang Zhicheng in 2026. Kulikov's run of bronzes ended at two.
| Year | Men's C1 gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Takuya Haneda (JPN) | Chen Fangjia (CHN) | Alexandr Kulikov (KAZ) |
| 2023 | Xie Yuancong (CHN) | Anvar Klevleev (UZB) | Alexandr Kulikov (KAZ) |
| 2026 | Zhang Zhicheng (CHN) | Wu Jung-cheng (TPE) | Piyanath Koetsuk (THA) |
The women's K1 title has gone to a different athlete at each of the last three Games. Chang Chu-han won medals in 2018 and 2023; in Toyota she was fourth, 1.25 seconds off bronze.
| Year | Women's K1 gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Aki Yazawa (JPN) | Li Tong (CHN) | Chang Chu-han (TPE) |
| 2023 | Chang Chu-han (TPE) | Li Lu (CHN) | Yekaterina Tarantseva (KAZ) |
| 2026 | Kurumi Ito (JPN) | Chen Lin (CHN) | Yekaterina Tarantseva (KAZ) |
The three Games were held on different courses, so scores from different years cannot be compared directly.
What's next: kayak cross on Friday
Friday 2 October closes the canoe slalom programme with kayak cross. The women's time trial starts at 11:00 local time (04:00 CEST), the men's at 11:30 (04:30 CEST). The quarter-finals begin at 13:30 (06:30 CEST) and the semi-finals at 14:14 (07:14 CEST). The small finals are at 14:50 and 14:54 (07:50 and 07:54 CEST), and the women's and men's finals at 15:10 and 15:14 (08:10 and 08:14 CEST).
Wednesday's finals are covered in our men's K1 and women's C1 recap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the men's C1 canoe slalom at the Asian Games 2026?
Zhang Zhicheng of China, with a clean 98.09 in the final on 1 October. Chinese Taipei's Wu Jung-cheng took silver (119.09) and Thailand's Piyanath Koetsuk bronze (121.68).
Who won the women's K1 canoe slalom at the Asian Games 2026?
Kurumi Ito of Japan, with 107.60 (105.60 on the water plus one 2-second touch). China's Chen Lin was second (111.70) and Kazakhstan's Yekaterina Tarantseva third (112.23).
Which country leads the canoe slalom medal table after four finals?
China, with three golds and one silver. Japan is second with a gold and a silver. Kazakhstan has three bronzes.
Why did Anvar Klevleev finish fourth in the men's C1?
He missed gate 20 in the final, which costs 50 seconds. His time on the water, 98.37, was only 0.28 seconds slower than the winner's, and without the miss he would have had the second-best score of the final.
Did Chang Chu-han defend her women's K1 title?
No. The 2023 champion finished fourth with 113.48. She was faster on the water than bronze medallist Tarantseva, but two touches cost her 4 seconds and she missed the podium by 1.25 seconds.
Did penalties decide the men's C1 medals?
Yes. On run time alone the podium would have been Zhang Zhicheng, Anvar Klevleev and Alexandr Kulikov. Klevleev and Kulikov each missed a gate and dropped to fourth and fifth. Silver medallist Wu Jung-cheng had the fifth-fastest time on the water, and bronze medallist Piyanath Koetsuk the sixth.
Is Zhang's margin the biggest of the canoe slalom finals in Toyota?
Yes, among the four finals raced so far. Zhang won by 21.00 seconds. Huang Juan won the women's C1 by 11.01, Kurumi Ito the women's K1 by 4.10 and Hu Zhaoshan the men's K1 by 1.46.
When are the kayak cross finals?
On Friday 2 October. The women's final is at 15:10 local time (08:10 CEST) and the men's at 15:14 (08:14 CEST). The time trials start at 11:00 local time (04:00 CEST).
Zhang Zhicheng gave China a third gold in Toyota, and Kurumi Ito won Japan's first canoe slalom gold of these Games. Only kayak cross remains, with two sets of medals on Friday. Full run-by-run results are on the Asian Games 2026 canoe slalom page.