NAGOYA, Japan — China’s teenage juggernaut Zhang Zhanshuo became the first swimmer to win seven gold medals at an Asian Games (Asiad) on the final night in the Tokyo pool as world records tumbled in the weightlifting on Friday.
Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson later capped off the day’s competition by establishing himself as the continent’s fastest man with a milestone victory in the 100 meters (m) in the athletics.
At the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, 19-year-old Zhang sat on the lane-rope and counted seven golds with his fingers after winning the 400-meter freestyle in three minutes, 41.28 seconds.
Having already won the 200, 800 and 1,500-m freestyle crowns and three relay titles to boot, his seven-gold haul was one better than China’s butterfly queen Zhang Yufei (Hangzhou 2022) and Japan’s Rikako Ikee (Jakarta 2018).
Only North Korean shooter So Gil San, who won seven golds and a silver in New Delhi in 1982, has a better medal count at a single Asian Games.
Only moments after his 400-m win, 6-foot 6-inch (1.98 m) Zhang was eyeing bigger prizes.
“The Asian Games is not the goal. I’m still aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” he said.
The towering teenager’s haul helped China sign off with 30 golds from 41 events in the pool, with chief rival Japan at a distant second with seven titles.
The meet has been ground zero for an explosion of junior talent, with China’s 13-year-old schoolgirl Yu Zidi winning three golds and Japan’s 17-year-old Shin Ohashi claiming the men’s 200-m breaststroke title in a world record.
The previous world record holder Qin Haiyang struck back for the established names on Friday, though, the 27-year-old retaining his 50-m breaststroke crown in a showdown with bronze-winning Ohashi.
Zhang Yufei, 28, won the 50-m butterfly, her fourth gold of the meet, and shed tears on the podium alongside old rival Ikee, who took bronze.
WEIGHTLIFTING RECORDS
Two days after Ri Song Gum broke three world records en route to the women’s 49-kilogram (kg) weightlifting gold, her North Korean compatriot Oh Kwang Ok matched that feat to win gold in the 57-kg division.
Oh hoisted 104 kg in the snatch and 134 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 238 kg, all records.
“I can still do more than that,” she said.
China’s Yang Liuyue followed suit with three world records of her own to win the 61-kg gold after North Korean rival Pak Jin Hae threw down the gauntlet with the clean and jerk world best of 139 kg.
Yang matched Pak’s clean and jerk, though, and broke new ground with 112 kg in the snatch and a total of 251 kg.
The deflated Pak apologized to North Korea for her “shortcomings.”
At the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, 20-year-old Boonson lifted Thai athletics to new heights with his 100-m victory in a personal best of 9.90 seconds.
The first Southeast Asian to break the 10-second barrier warmed up for his golden run with 9.91 in the semifinals.
Chen Yujie took the women’s 100-m gold for China in 11.06, ahead of Singapore’s Shanti Pereira.
Olympic champion Carlos Yulo celebrated a second gymnastics gold, landing the vault title to go with his floor exercise gold on Thursday.
A long sporting dynasty ended as China missed out on the men’s team gold in table tennis for the first time since Beijing 1990, losing 3-2 to Japan.
Tomokazu Harimoto was the hero for the hosts, winning two matches in the tie, including a 3-0 thumping of twice Olympic champion and world number one Wang Chuqin.
China’s women restored the nation’s dented pride with a sixth straight gold in the team event, claiming a resounding 3-0 win over silver medalists Japan. — Reuters