 He had strong arms and good coordination skills for rowing.In 2001 it was Sui Hongjun (隋红军), who served as a whitewater slalom coach in Heyuan Water Sports Administration, Guangdong, who discovered Hu's potential in canoeing and recommended Hu to take part in slalom training.In March 2001, Hu went to Heyuan Slalom Team with Sui from Yueyang to start his slalom canoeing career.