RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Slovakia must have felt a long way from home for Japan’s Takuya Haneda as a teenager but 10 years after that bold venture his plan came to fruition on Tuesday as he became Asia’s first Olympic medal winner in canoe slalom.

Haneda showed great skill as he paddled down Rio’s white water course at the Deodoro centre – surging through the gates in a manner that would have impressed even Slovakian great Michal Martikan, a twice Olympic champion in C1.

Having set the second fastest time behind Slovak Matej Benus, it was then a nervous wait for the 29-year-old Japanese.

There were still five of the world’s best paddlers to tackle the 24 gates suspended above the ribbon of foaming water and a medal still looked like a long shot.

But only eventual winner Denis Gargaud Chanut of France went quicker, meaning the bronze medal belonged to Haneda – with a little help from Slovakia.

“I’m honoured to be the first Japanese athlete to win a canoe slalom medal, and the first from Asia,” he said, smiling in front of reporters in a news conference. “I have been preparing for a long time for this.

“I have been practising in Slovakia from when I was 19 years old. I’m so grateful to my family for supporting me and now I can show them my bronze medal.”

Moving to Slovakia after high school, where he combined his canoe training with studying in Bratislava, was a wise choice for Haneda as the European country is steeped in canoeing culture.

His coach Milan Kuban, a former team mate of Martikan, a five-times Olympic medal winner in C1, has worked with him for seven years, steering him to seventh place in the London Olympics and fifth in the 2014 worlds.

Kuban thinks his charge can get even better with the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon.

“It’s been a long and difficult journey for him,” Kuban told Reuters. “But his life is for canoeing, every morning he trains.

“I think he is one of the best I’ve seen for feeling the balance of the canoe. He has that naturally and then we combine the training methods that we have in Slovakia.

“I’ve taken Takuya to train with Martikan and that has helped him to get this medal.”

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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