Swimming sensation Yu, 13, fuels China’s Asian Games gold rush
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China's Yu Zidi celebrates on the podium after winning the women's 200m individual medley at the Asian Games.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- China dominated Day 2 of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi winning two golds and setting an Asian Games record in the 200m individual medley.
- China's marksmen excelled, with Olympic champion Sheng Lihao retaining his 10m air rifle title and China winning both team golds; North and South Korea drew 1-1 in a tense women's football match.
- Mixed martial arts debuted with a bronze medal for Dastan Kanybek uulu, and the Olympic Council of Asia refugee team made its first appearance, featuring Syrian taekwondo fighters aiming for success.
AI generated
NAGOYA – With a generational talent making a splash in the pool and a bunch of sharpshooters dominating the range, behemoth China cemented their lead on the medal table on Day 2 of full competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept 21.
Organisers postponed the equestrian events to Sept 22 amid fears of disruption, then heaved a sigh of relief as typhoon Dujuan shifted towards eastern Japan, allowing the rest of the programme to proceed.
In the pool, 13-year-old sensation Yu Zidi collected her second gold in as many days, scorching to an Asian Games record to win the 200m individual medley. Her time was four-tenths of a second shy of the world record held by Canada’s Summer McIntosh.
“I feel even happier about this gold medal than the first one (200m butterfly),” the prodigy said.
“The details we discussed today were things I might not get right in training, so I needed to pay more attention to them.”
China’s Dong Zhihao shared the men’s 100m breaststroke gold with home favourite Shin Ohashi while compatriot Qin Haiyang, who swept the breaststroke events at Hangzhou 2022, settled for bronze.
China’s marksmen were just as ruthless at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
Olympic champion Sheng Lihao retained his men’s 10m air rifle crown, holding off spirited challenges from India’s Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil. China also clinched both team golds.
At Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA, bitter rivals North Korea and South Korea played out a 1-1 draw in a women’s Group F football match.
No handshake
The 1950 to 1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the North and South are still technically at war.
North Korea coach Pak Song Jin played down the rivalry, calling it nothing special, while his opposite number Shin Sang-woo was not surprised at no shaking of hands after the match.
“It’s not always the case, but if (DPR Korea) requests a handshake, of course I will respond with one,” he said.
“In this football game, we just need to achieve results. The political situation does not matter.”
The day also delivered a milestone for mixed martial arts.
Dastan Kanybek uulu earned the sport’s first Asian Games medal in its Nagoya debut, taking bronze in the 60kg category.
The modified format, designed to broaden appeal and support a longer-term Olympic bid, may not satisfy hardcore purists of a sport once dubbed “human cockfighting”, but it marks a significant step towards mainstream inclusion.
In another first, an Olympic Council of Asia refugee team will make their Asian Games debut in Nagoya.
Mahmoud Jasem Muhammad and Tala Hasan Hunaidi, Syrian refugees who fled their strife-torn homeland to live in exile at Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp, are both taekwondo fighters.
“The preparations were really intense, and our goal isn’t just to participate – we’re hoping to achieve something, God willing,” Muhammad said. REUTERS