Rising tennis star Zheng Qinwen was another notable winner for China in Hangzhou on the sixth day of action, defeating compatriot Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the women’s title.
The hosts also swept the first gold medals in athletics as Zhang Jun came first in the men’s 20km race walk and teammate Yang Jiayu did likewise in the women’s. China also picked up gold medals in artistic gymnastics.
They have been especially dominant in the pool, putting in a string of performances that will not have gone unnoticed by their rivals across the globe with the Paris Olympics less than 10 months away.
On the final day of swimming action, world champion Qin completed the breaststroke treble and Zhang claimed a sixth gold medal.
China easily topped the final swimming medals table with 28 gold medals. South Korea won six and Japan five.
Along with Qin and Zhang, Pan Zhanle became only the fifth man ever to clock below 47 seconds in the 100m freestyle as China went close to smashing two relay world records.
Wang Shun clocked the seventh-fastest 200m medley time in history.
“Our results show that we are returning to our peak,” warned Xu Jiayu, who took home five gold medals.
“I believe this is a sign that there may be better things and better results to come.”
Rock-star treatment
In esports, which has been a big hit on its debut at the Games as a medal event, South Korea beat Taiwan in the League of Legends final in front of a packed crowd at the 4,500-seat Hangzhou Esports Center.
That gold medal put South Korean star Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, together with his teammates, in line for an exemption from military service.
The bespectacled Lee, 27, was given rock-star treatment as spectators shouted “Faker! Faker!” at the medal ceremony.
Any athlete from South Korea can skip full military service if they win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Exemptions are controversial, even more so for esports, which is still seen by some as out of place at a major multi-sport international event.
They are also rare. Fewer than 100 exemptions for “arts and sports” were handed out last year, official statistics show.
In tennis, US Open quarterfinalist Zheng, ranked 23 in the world, can now put an Asian Games gold medal alongside her first WTA title, which she won in July in Palermo, Italy.
“I feel different because here I’m representing my country. In Palermo that was my personal achievement,” said Zheng, fondly known by her growing number of fans as “Queen Wen”.
China did not have it all their own way, even as they surged beyond the century mark of gold medals.
Japan bagged gold and silver medals in the men’s individual triathlon thanks to Kenji Nener and Makoto Odakura.
The Japanese have also been in scintillating form across four days of track cycling, collecting three more gold medals today.
First reported doping case
An Afghan boxer has been provisionally suspended for failing a doping test, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said, the first reported drugs case at the Asian Games.
The 37-year-old Mohammad Khaibar Nooristani, who was defeated on Monday in the preliminary rounds of the 71kg weight class in Hangzhou, tested positive for two banned substances, the ITA said.
Both were anabolic steroids.
“The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect. He has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample,” the ITA added.
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