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SAPPORO, Japan, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Host Japan pocketed both golds of the women's 4x5km and the men's 4x7.5km relay in cross-country skiing at the Winter Asiad here on Friday.
In the women's event, Japan clocked a total time of one hour and eight minutes and 16.6 seconds at Shirahatayama Open Stadium to win the gold, while China finished in 1:08:41.4 for the silver.
Mikko Olavi Virtanen, head coach of the Chinese cross-country skiing team, said after the events that he was satisfied with the girls' performance.
"I'm satisfied with the silver medal. It's amazing," he said.
China's Man Dandan finished the first leg first, but Li Xin, with a shoulder injury, was surpassed by the skiers from Japan and Kazakhstan in the second leg.
"Before the events, my biggest concern was Li Xin's shoulder problem," he said, adding that the snow condition was also very challenging for the waxing team.
In the third leg, Japan sent its fastest skier - 29-year-old Yuki Kobayashi who rushed to the first place. Kobayashi also won the 5km classical and 10km free earlier in the week.
China's Chi Chunxue, 19, set off in hot pursuit and took her team to the second place at the end of the third leg, and Li Hongxue, bronze medalist in Thursday's women's 5km classical, kept the pace to the end.
South Korea lagged behind in the first three legs, but surpassed Kazakhstan in the final leg with its fastest Lee Chae-won, finishing five kilometers in 15 minutes and 48.2 seconds, and took the bronze.
In the men's event, Japan clocked 1:27:30.3 to win the gold. Kazakhstan took the silver in 1:27:49.4. The bronze went to South Korea in 1:30:12.2. Enditem
