The 20th Asian Games were held in Japan from September 19 to October 4. The Chinese national sports delegation secured 169 gold, 89 silver and 83 bronze medals, a total of 341 medals, topping both the gold medal table and overall medal table. This marks China’s best performance at an Asian Games held outside the country. A total of 22 athletes from Qingdao were selected for China’s delegation. They earned an outstanding haul of 11 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals (18 in total). Qingdao ranked first in Shandong Province in terms of gold medals, total medals, number of athletes and number of events entered, and second among China’s sub-provincial cities in gold medals, setting a new record for Qingdao athletes at an Asian Games hosted overseas.
Competing fiercely and pushing their limits, Qingdao athletes delivered strong results across multiple disciplines. Swimmer Zhang Zhanshuo claimed gold in the men’s 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events. He also teamed up with teammates to win gold in the men’s 4×100m freestyle relay, men’s 4×200m freestyle relay and men’s 4×100m medley relay. At these Asian Games, he took home seven gold medals in total, breaking three Asian records and two Asian Games records. He equaled the 44-year-old record for most individual gold medals at a single Asian Games, becoming the first swimmer in Asian Games history to win seven golds at one edition. Swimmer Xu Fang won three relay gold medals and two silver medals in the men’s 100m and 200m butterfly. Olympic champion canoeist Yin Mengdie showed the poise of a seasoned athlete, capturing two gold medals in the women’s K2 500m and women’s K4 500m events. Sailor Li Wenqi claimed gold in the women’s IQFoil event.
Jiang Zhichao in athletics and Li Benshou in rugby sevens won silver medals. Wang Siyu (basketball), Yuan Lingjie (handball) and Yu Qi (archery) took bronze medals. Li Lei, Zhang Chengxue, Cao Shuting, Wang Yanwei, Song Jinyang and Hu Xiaoyu, Yu Haicheng finished fourth in volleyball, football, beach volleyball, sailing, shooting trap and other events. Liu Kai from athletics finished fifth in the men’s 4×400m relay. First-time Asian Games competitors swimmer Wang Junteng, sailor Gao Junqi and 13-year-old skateboarder Meng Lingyan all placed sixth with commendable performances. Modern pentathlete Fu Jing ranked eighth in the individual event.
Editor: Liu Shuo/ Wang Yulin
