Eala assured of Asiad medal, China's diving dominance continues

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 30 - Filipino tennis star Alex Eala ensured she will not return empty‑handed from the Aichi‑Nagoya Asian Games as China claimed a slice of diving history and stormed past the 150 gold-medal mark at the event on Wednesday.

Eala booked a semi-final berth and guaranteed herself at least a bronze with a 7-5 6-0 win over Taiwan's Joanna Garland at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

The pair traded early breaks in the opening set, with Garland edging ahead 4-3 before Eala wrested control to take the it 7-5 and sweep the second.

The first Filipino to win a WTA title, Eala said she had no regrets about skipping the China Open.

"It was a difficult decision. But representing the country and playing these types of Games ... they're very close to my heart and a big part of my dreams," she said.

"These events are really fun, really competitive, and a great experience for me.

"The Asian Games is a different life to what other tournaments normally have, and what each country brings to their delegation is amazing."

Eala's campaign in women's doubles ended, however, as she and Shaira Rivera lost 7-5 6-2 to China's Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan.

China underlined its dominance once again, particularly in diving.

Lian Junjie won the men's 10m platform to seal an unprecedented 100th consecutive Asian Games diving gold for the nation.

"This milestone was made possible by the efforts of our predecessors, built up little by little over generations," Lian said.

"Their work has given us the sense of mission and responsibility that we carry today, and motivated us to fight for this 100th gold medal."

China first competed at the Asian Games in 1974 and has won every diving event since.

PLOTTING THE WINNER

In Osaka, Bae Jun-ho struck late as South Korea came from behind to defeat China 2-1 and reach a record fourth successive men's soccer final.

Bae said he and stand‑in captain Eom Ji-sung plotted the winner at halftime with the score 1-1.

"I knew he was going to go for the far post and that's why I ran behind the left back," Bae told Reuters.

"He called to me and then I scored. Beautiful pass, it was really easy to score."

They will chase an unprecedented fourth straight gold in Saturday's final against Japan, who edged out Uzbekistan on penalties.

Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, involved in a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics along with Algerian Imane Khelif, stormed into the women's 60kg boxing final and is one win from a second Asian Games gold.

India, which swept all five compound archery golds at the Hangzhou Games three years ago, looked on course to repeat after clinching the three team titles at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. REUTERS