SPORT dancers Liang Yujie and Shen Hong won China’s 1,000th Asian Games gold medal Saturday.

    Liang and Shen claimed the tango gold, which is China’s 1,000th since the country made an Asian Games debut in 1974. Twenty minutes earlier, the pair took the standard waltz title.

    China won 33 golds in the 1974 Asian Games, 51 in 1978, 61 in 1982, 94 in 1986, 183 in 1990, 125 in 1994, 129 in 1998, 150 in 2002 and 165 in 2006.

    “The warm cheers from the spectators as well as the instructions from the coaches encouraged us. We didn’t want to let them down,” said Liang Yujie.

    China swept the dance floor Saturday, winning all five gold medals on the first day of the inaugural Asian Games dance sport event.

    Japan and South Korea finished second or third in each of the events. They included the waltz, quickstep, slow fox-trot, tango and Latin five dances — an event that combines samba, cha cha cha, rumba, paso doble and jive.

    The Asian Games is the biggest stage yet for dance sport, which proponents hope will one day be included at the Olympics. Like its closest Olympic cousin, the Winter Games’ figure skating, the sport combines athleticism with technical skills and artistry.(SD-Agencies)