(Sports focus) China's short-track speedskater Zhou eyes hat-trick of Olympic title in Pyeongchang 2018

Two-time Olympic champion Zhou Yang has aimed for a hat-trick of Olympic titles in women's 1,500m short-track speedskating in Pyeongchang 2018, after winning two gold medals at the Chinese National Winter Games.

Zhou failed to make the final of her signature 1,500m event after an accidental fall in the semis on Thursday. The 24-year-old shrugged off the disappointment to win 1,000m in a national-record time and anchor team Changchun to victory in the women's 3,000m relay.

Zhou punched in the air after the 1,000m final and looked relieved as it was her first gold medal at these National Winter Games, the top winter sports competition in China.

"All the energy saved yesterday is used today," said Zhou, who were quite disappointed after Thursday's elimination. "I've waited for this race for a long time and I'm happy about my result."

"I do feel some pressure after yesterday's competition," she added. "I thought too much before the 1,500m, because I really wanted to win."

Zhou won the 1,000m final in one minute 28.742 seconds. Yang Yang from the Chinese Army and Fan Kexin from Qitaihe finished second and third respectively.

Zhou's time smashed the previous national record which was set by Fan in Tuesday's preliminaries.

"If you want to break the record in short track, you need to make sure everything is good, and the rink is very important. The rink here is very good," said Zhou.

Zhou, the current 1,500m world record holder, now eyes more glories at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

"I definitely want to win the 1,500m gold medal for the third straight time in Pyeongchang," she told reporters. "No one has achieved the feat so far in winter sports."

Zhou, who has been bothered by injuries in recent years, has yet to hit top form as she didn't make the top podium so far in this season's World Cup series.

"I think my age is Ok, and the biggest problem for me is injury," she said. "I still need time to recover."

Fan also had impressive performance at the National Winter Games. She won the 1,500m title and her time surpassed Zhou's world record.

"I have to say I am surprised by Fan's form," Zhou said. "She was a little weak in 1,500m, but she won in 2:16.024, and I think she was in really good form."

In the men's race, Sochi Olympic runner-up Han Tianyu won the 1,000m in 1:24.894, while Wu Dajing, also a silver medalist in Sochi 2014, led team Jilin to take the 5,000m relay title.

The 13th National Winter Games, which kicked off Wednesday, will run through Jan. 30. It is for the first time since the winter sporting gala was introduced in 1959 that the quadrennial event has been held outside the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin. Endit