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Cao Mianying, a native of Jiaxing's Haiyan county. [Photo/jiaxingren.com]

The first gold medal of the Hangzhou Asian Games was won by two Zhejiang girls, Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping, in the lightweight women's double sculls title at the Fuyang Water Sports Center.

Behind their success was their coach Cao Mianying, a native of Jiaxing's Haiyan county. She was a former champion rower herself and has been coaching for 25 years. She has led the team in five Olympic events and is one of the most experienced rowing coaches in the country.

Cao praised her students for demonstrating their full potential and making no mistakes. She said they performed very well.

Cao has a long history of involvement in rowing in China. She won gold in the women's single sculls rowing event at three Asian competitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After retiring, she trained many excellent rowers, including Chen Aina, who won gold for Zhejiang at the 10th National Games in 2005.

Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping's victory has become another highlight of Cao's coaching career.