Chinese, Japanese teenagers split skateboarding golds at Hangzhou Asiad

HANGZHOU, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's 15-year-old Chen Ye upset two seasoned Japanese skateboarders to win the men's skateboarding park event at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday.

Chen emerged as the winner of an exhilarating battle with a score of 84.41 points, narrowly beating Japan's Yuro Nagahara by a margin of 0.41 points. Reigning Asiad champion Kensuke Sasaoka, also from Japan, had to settle for bronze after falling in his earlier runs.

Chen expressed his excitement, saying, "Winning the gold medal is beyond my expectations. Japanese boarders are very competitive, and I have learned a lot from them."

Sasaoka expressed regrets for failing to defend his title but was content with his performance in the third run and vowed to strive for better results in future competitions.

In the women's park event, 15-year-old Japanese Hinano Kusaki earned the highest score of 88.87 points to secure the gold.

The silver medal went to 20-year-old Chinese Li Yujuan, while the bronze was claimed by another Chinese Mao Jiasi, who is also 15 years old.

"I am so happy to have won the championship, and I completed all my performances successfully today," said Kusaki.

The street events of skateboarding are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.