Qin Haiyang added the 100th gold medal for Team China at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday, clinching his personal fifth title in the men's 50m breaststroke, shortly after Olympic champion Zhang Yufei concluded her Asiad campaign with a 6th gold from the women's 50m butterfly.

Qin finished first on Friday in 26.35 seconds, followed by teammate Sun Jiajun who trailed in 26.92 and South Korean swimmer Choi Dongyeol in the bronze medal position with 26.93. 

Qin Haiyang in action during the men's 50m breaststroke final at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, September 29, 2023. (Photo/CFP)

Earlier in the year, the 24-year-old took all individual breaststroke titles at the World Championships, while setting a new record in the men's 200m.

The 50m world record remains on top of Qin's bucket list, but his chance will soon arrive when he competes with current holder of the record, Britain's Adam Peaty, in the Berlin leg of Swimming World Cup next week. 

Zhang set a new Games record of 25.10 seconds, followed by teammate Yu Yiting who finished second in 25.71. Japan's Rikako Ikee won the bronze in 26.02.

Later in the night, Chinese swimmers continued to exhibit dominance, as Li Bingjie won the 800m freestyle in 8:20.01 and Xu Jiayu won the men's 200m backstroke in 1:55.37.

On the final day of the swimming events, Team China topped their best Asiad record with 28 golds, 21 silvers, and 9 bronzes. 

Earlier on Friday, Zheng Qinwen, who made history earlier this month when she reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals, took her first Asiad gold medal in Hangzhou in an all-Chinese final against Zhu Lin.  

Zhu Lin (L) and Zheng Qinwen gesture to the audience after the Hangzhou Asian Games tennis women's singles final in Hangzhou, China, September 29, 2023. (Photo/CFP)

Zheng, 20, wrapped up a 6-2, 6-4 victory with six aces, despite a challenge from Zhu who took a 4-3 lead in the second set before Zheng rallied back to secure her title in straight sets. 

"There are always ups and downs in the tournament. The challenges in previous rounds helped me better prepare for the final match," said Zheng. 

"It was a tough game. We staged an excellent performance together for the crowd," said 29-year-old Zhu. "I was really touched when the home fans cheered for us and felt proud of competing for my country in the international events," she added.

"We will definitely make our utmost efforts and expect the best results at the Olympics," said Zheng, as both are eyeing the Paris Games next year.  

Meanwhile, Jason Jung and Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei upset second-seeded Indian pair Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4 to grab the men's doubles gold. 

The men's singles final between China's Zhang Zhizhen and Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, as well as the women's doubles and mixed doubles finals, will take place tomorrow.

(With input from Xinhua) 

Source: CGTN

Editor: Tan Qikuan