China's Guo returns from disgrace but Japan the best
China's Guo returns from disgrace but Japan the best
BANGKOK (AFP): Xiong Guoming completed his return from drug disgrace on Saturday with victory in the men's 200 meter medley Saturday but Japan returned to the top of Asian Games swimming.
Xiong lost four gold medals at the Asian Games four years ago in the Chinese doping scandal that rocked the Hiroshima Games.
He was banned for two years. But his triumph in 2 minutes 3.34 seconds gave him gold and a Games record to go with the silver medal he won in the 400m medley on Tuesday.
"I have been looking forward to a gold medal in the Asian Games to prove myself," Xiong said. "My next goal is to get through the domestic trials for the Sydney Olympics."
China was humiliated by the Hiroshima scandal, but in answer to drug questions, Xiong would only say: "I can prove I am clean with a doping test."
Japan's veteran Jo Yoshimi was second in the medley and China's Xie Xufeng was third. Thailand's Ratapong Sirisanont, who inherited both medley golds from Xiong in Hiroshima, was relegated to fifth.
After massive gains by China in 1990 and 1994 -- a record now tainted by drugs -- Japan reclaimed the swimming superiority it boasted throughout the Asian Games of the 1970s and 1980s.
Japan beat China in the gold rankings 15-13 thanks to performers like Shunsuke Ito, who captured his fourth gold medal of the Games on Saturday in the men's 4x100m medley relay.
A Japan team including double butterfly gold medalist Takashi Yamamoto and 100m freestyle winner Ito beat a Chinese quartet including solo gold medalists Su Yong and Zeng Qiliang.
Yamamoto claimed his third gold while Ito, who raced in all of Japan's triumphant men's relay teams, grabbed his fourth.
"I have only one individual gold, so it would not have been possible without the team's strength. I did not have to race in the heats so I could show what I have in the finals."
Hat-tricks
Two women, Japan's Tomoko Hagiware and China's Shan Ying, took their gold total to three on the final night of swimming at the US$38 million Thammasat University pool.
Hagiware picked up her second backstroke gold in the 200m. Just as she did in the 100m, Hagiware thwarted world championship silver and bronze medalist Mie Nakamura, edging into the lead at the final turn and surging past her teammate.
Shan captured her second individual gold and third of the competition in the 50m freestyle. Successfully defending her 100m freestyle title from 1994, she won in 25.88 seconds, leading teammate Xue Han and Japan's Sumiko Minamoto.
While Chinese and Japanese swimmers piled up the golds, only a handful of others were able to get their hands on titles.
South Korean Cho Hee-yeon became one of them, with her victory in the women's 200m butterfly.
"This is the happiest moment of my life," said Cho, who became the only fourth swimmer to win a gold for countries other than China or Japan at these Games. "I thought the Japanese would get the medal."
Hitomi Kashima managed to sneak ahead at the halfway mark, but could not hold on to the lead. Cho widened the gap on the final lap for a convincing victory in 2:11.34 ahead of Ruan Yi of China and a tiring Kashima.
Japan's Masato Hirano avenged his 400m freestyle defeat with a victory in the 1,500m freestyle in an Asian Games record of 15:22.20. Thai, Torlarp Sethsothorn, who beat the Asian record holder to the 400m freestyle gold this time took silver ahead of 1994 gold medalist Hisham Masri of Syrian.