BEIJING, Aug 23: China won their second Olympic canoeing gold medal and Hungary’s women a sense of vindication on a scorching day on Lake Shunyi on Saturday.

China won the men’s 500 metre canoe double — in one of the only races to go to form — to delight the roaring Chinese crowd and defend their Athens title, while Hungary’s women won the last race of the day in the 500 metre kayak.

The victory gave Katalin Kovacs her first gold medal of the Games after starting three finals, and a sense of payback for her and partner Natasa Janic following four years of strife.

“It seems it was worth standing up for this pair,” Janic told reporters. “I really knew it was worth fighting for.”

After their double victory in Athens, the coach of Kovacs and Janic decided they should train and race separately, prompting Kovacs to eventually leave her coach just months before the Olympics to team up with her former partner.

Kovacs said she had always believed they could win again.

“I didn’t want to entice conflict,” she said. “I believed in this pair and I wanted to put it together like four years ago and I’m very glad we stood by each other.”

China’s victory was less complicated.

Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun, who won China’s first Olympic canoe gold medal in 2004, took a small lead off the start and held on to take gold to the delight of the Chinese fans.

Unlike those two races though, the earlier four finals all went against the form book.

Australia’s Ken Wallace pipped favourite Adam van Koeverden from Canada to the men’s kayak 500 metre sprint gold.

In the men’s 500 metre canoe, Russia’s Maxim Opalev took gold to add to his silver from Sydney and Athens bronze, beating the Spanish favourite David Cal into second.

Inna Osypenko-Radomska of Ukraine came through on the line to win the women’s 500 metre single kayak, overshadowing many of the more fancied paddlers in the event including Kovacs who finished fourth.

While Spain won the men’s kayak double over Germany, who were Athens champions and world champions since 2001.

—Reuters