ALMATY, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Skaters from South Korea and Japan dominated the men's 500m speed skating competition at the 2017 Almaty Universiade on Wednesday as they finished top six of the event.

Cha Minkyu of South Korea claimed the title in 70.40 seconds. Japan's Nakao Koto finished second in 70.76 and Cha's teammate Kim Youngjin came third in 71.13.

Moreover, Shinhama Tatsuya and Goto Takuya, both of Japan finished fourth and sixth while another South Korean skater Kim Junho ranked fifth.

China's Zhang Hongqiang, who was considered a medal hopeful, finished 16th.

"I am not satisfied with my result," said Zhang, "I thought I could fight for a medal. I didn't feel good playing at an outdoor ice rink, but this is not the main reason. I have to train more and be more strong."

In the women's 3,000m on Wednesday, Maryna Zuyeva of Belarus claimed the title in four minutes and 18.26 seconds. Takahashi Nana of Japan took the silver in 4:27.68 while Russia's Elena Sokhryakova was third in 4:27.89.

Wu Dan of China timed in 4:42.86 to rank 17th among 32 skaters.