He Jie breaks new ground for China in men’s marathon as the hosts retain women’s basketball title

Hangzhou: He Jie etched his name in history by clinching China’s first men’s marathon gold at an Asian Games, while their women’s basketball team fended off a spirited challenge from Japan to retain their Asiad title on Thursday.

Early in the morning, He maintained a position in the leading group of the 42.195km race, pushing ahead in the last two kilometers to clinch victory with a time of 2:13:02, reports Xinhua.

DPR Korea’s Han Il Ryong secured silver in 2:13:27, and China’s Yang Shaohui took bronze with a time of 2:13:39.

“I told my coach that I have a dream and I will go for it no matter what it takes. All of my plans this year are centered around preparing for the Asian Games, as this competition is being held in China and 1.4 billion Chinese people are watching,” He said.

“I hope more people will participate in this wonderful sport and that my medal will give a much-needed boost to marathon running,” added the 24-year-old.

In the women’s marathon, Eunice Chebichii Paul Chumba of Bahrain crossed the finish line first in 2:26:14, followed by China’s Zhang Deshun in 2:27:55, and Sardana Trofimova of Kyrgyzstan who clocked her season best of 2:28:41.

The marathon races brought the curtain down on the athletics events at the Hangzhou Asiad, with Chinese topping the medal tally with 19 golds, 11 silvers and 9 bronzes. Bahrain and India ranked second and third with 10 and 6 golds respectively.

In the highly anticipated women’s basketball final, China led from the beginning but was tied by Japan at 72-72 with only 13 seconds remaining on the clock. Then, Wang Siyu stood out with a layup to seal the win for the hosts.

“We had a very firm belief before the game. We also made a lot of preparations for difficulties. Whether it was a tie, trailing, or leading, we insisted on doing our best,” said Chinese star player Li Meng.

China’s women’s basketball team, who finished the runner-up at the FIBA Women’s World Cup last year, has won the Asian Games title for the seventh consecutive time.

The bronze went to South Korea, who secured a 93-63 victory over DPR Korea earlier.

Also on Thursday, Malaysia dominated in squash, clinching both the men’s and women’s singles titles.

Malaysia’s Subramaniam Sivasangari edged Chan Sin-yuk of Hong Kong, China 3-2 in the women’s singles final to grab her second gold in Hangzhou, in addition to the women’s team title. Before Sivasangari’s victory, her compatriot Nicol David had won five women’s squash singles golds across the last six Asian Games.

“I’m so happy that I made it. Nicol is our idol. I hope to do something she has done,” said the 24-year-old.

In the men’s singles final, Ng Eain Yow of Malaysia defeated India’s Saurav Ghosal 3-1 to triumph in the event. The Malaysian also won a silver in mixed doubles, while the gold was claimed by an Indian pair.

China’s weightlifter Tian Tao, a gold medalist in the 85kg category at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014, won the men’s 96kg title in Hangzhou.

“Due to the injuries, I didn’t practice clean and jerk in the recent three weeks, but I was determined to win the gold for my country. Now, I will keep training in order to perform my best at the Paris Olympics,” said Tian.

Song Kuk Hyang pocketed the sixth gold in weightlifting for DPR Korea in the women’s 76kg category.

Elsewhere, Qatar defeated Bahrain to capture their third consecutive Asian Games title in men’s handball, while Japan upset defending champion South Korea to win the women’s gold.

Japan’s duo Toshiki Uematsu and Noa Takahashi clinched the Asian Games soft tennis mixed doubles championship.

As of Thursday, China leads the medal table with 179 golds, 99 silvers, and 55 bronzes. Japan ranks second with 44 golds, followed by South Korea with 33.

–IANS