HARBIN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Gao Tingyu of China set off his second Asian Winter Games (AWG) campaign to a good start, winning the men's 100m gold at the Speed Skating Oval of the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center on Saturday.

His victory highlighted a golden day for Chinese skaters, with Ning Zhongyan and Han Mei also emerged victorious in the men's and women's 1,500m events, respectively.

Gao, a native of Heilongjiang Province, was China's sole gold medalist in speed skating at the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, where he won the men's 500m race.

Despite struggling with injuries during this season's World Cup events, Gao set eyes on defending his title. On Saturday, he delivered a dominant performance, clocking 9.35 seconds to grab his second AWG title, 0.12 seconds ahead of Yevgeniy Koshkin of Kazakhstan.

Kim Jun-ho of South Korea finished third in 9.62 seconds.

"Seeing other skaters achieve good results makes me even more motivated to win this gold medal," Gao said.

"It feels totally different to compete in your hometown. The atmosphere was amazing. I could hear the crowd cheering for us," 27-year-old Gao said, adding that "I could be faster."

Gao will next compete in men's 500m and team sprint, and he is ready to "start from zero." "I just hope to concentrate on every training session and try to perform my best in every event," he said.

Ning, who carried the Chinese national flag during Friday's opening ceremony, eased to victory in the men's 1,500m in one minute and 45.85 seconds, followed by two Japanese skaters Kazuya Yamada and Ryota Kojima who were 1.70 and 2.62 seconds behind.

For Ning, 25, this marked his first AWG and a dream come true.

"This is a small dream come true for me, but I have a bigger one," said Ning, who finished fifth at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. "I feel I am more mature now, and I hope to make breakthroughs at Milano-Cortina 2026."

China's success continued as Han, Yang Binyu and Yin Qi swept the women's 1,500m podium. Yang was leading the field after skating to 1:58.06 in the sixth pair. Han and Yin, paired in the final group, crossed the line in 1:57.58 and 1:58.09 respectively.

"We are very proud to see three Chinese flags hoisted to the national anthem. I think every one of us did a great job," said Han, who mentioned the absence of Olympic champion Miho Takagi of Japan made the competition less competitive.

Han will compete in 1,000m, 3,000m, team sprint, and team pursuit in the following competition days, and the 27-year-old feels it's a sweet burden.

"I have to admit it's a little bit tiring for me [to compete in so many events], but on the other hand this also represents the trust in me, which makes me feel happy and encouraged," she said.

The speed skating competitions will continue on Sunday with the women's 500m, men's 5,000m, and women's team sprint events. Enditem

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