Qatar's Ogunode sets new 100-meter Asian record

INCHEON — Qatar's Femi Ogunode set a continental 100-meter record of 9.93 seconds at the Asian Games on yesterday, firmly indicating his determination to contend for an Olympic podium appearance two years from now in Rio.

At the halfway mark of the 16-day competition, Japanese freestyle wrestler Saori Yoshida won her fourth consecutive Asian Games gold in the women's 55-kilogram class, while in baseball defending champion South Korea downed Taiwan 6-3.

Regional sporting power China continued to dominate the medal table at the continental games, with 105 golds. Host South Korea was second with 42 golds followed by Japan with 34.

With a light rain falling, the Nigerian-born Ogunode powered past the competition. China's Su Bingtian took silver at 10.10 and Japan's Kei Takase third at 10.15, while China's Zhang Peimeng came up short again in his quest to become the first Asian sprinter to break the 10-second barrier, finishing fourth in 10.18.

"I don't even know what to say. I'm so grateful and happy," said Ogunode, who has been training on his own in Doha without a coach for the last five months.

"I have confidence in myself, I can challenge anybody," the 23-year-old former boxer said. "I see myself winning the Olympic gold."

A member of China's gold medal-winning 4x100 relay team at the last Asian Games, Su said his second-placed finish was the result of hard work.

"This silver medal didn't come easily. The competition is really tough, so I had to make a lot of adjustments," Su said.

China's Wei Yongli won gold in the women's 100 in 11.48, forcing defending champion Chisato Fukushima of Japan into second place just 0.01 behind. Olga Safronova of Kazakhstan was another 0.01 back in third place.

"This is my first win in a big competition like this and I've been waiting a long time. It's really moving," said Wei, whose personal best is 11.29.

Prior to the sprints, Asian record holder Ruth Jebet was finally awarded the gold medal she won the night before in the women's 3,000 steeplechase following a review of the result.

Jebet left the podium in tears on Saturday night after an announcement during the medal ceremony that she'd been disqualified from the race she'd won handily in 9:31.36, obliterating the former games record by 24 seconds. Jebet committed a fault by veering slightly onto the infield in the final stretch, but was so far ahead at the time that no other runners were affected.

"I responded positively to the events of yesterday because I wasn't aware of the mistake I'd made," said Jebet, who stood stony-faced throughout a second medal ceremony yesterday.

China's Li Zhenzhu took silver, while bronze went to India's Lalita Shivaji Babar.

Saudi Arabia's Yousef Ahmed Masrahi won the men's 400 in 44.6, followed by teammate Abbas Abubakar Abbas and India's Arokiarajiv.

Nigerian-born Oluwakemi Adekoya won the women's 400 for Bahrain in 51.59, with Vietnam's Quach Thi Lan and Poovamma Raju Machettira of India.

Chinese Olympic bronze medalist Zhang Wenxiu won her third consecutive gold in the Asiad women's hammer throw, with teammate Wang Zheng in second and India's Bala Manju third.

China's Xue Changrui won the men's pole vault by reaching 5.5 meters, with Japan's Daichi Sawano second and South Korea's Jin Min-sub third.

China bagged both 20-kilometer race walking golds, with Wang Zhen taking the men's and Lu Xiuzhi the women's.

Upcoming athletics highlights for the week include Asian Games title defenses by Kazakh Olympic champion triple jumper Olga Rypakova and Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Olympic bronze medalist and world championship silver medalist.

One of Japan's biggest sporting stars and most successful wrestlers in history, Yoshida beat Mongolia's Byambatseren Sundev 4-1.

"I was nervous all the way through until the end because you never know what is going to happen in the match. But I fought with confidence and tried not to be locked in my opponent's pace," Yoshida said.

Yoshida has won virtually every major tournament since her 2002 debut, including three consecutive Olympic golds and an unprecedented 12 consecutive world titles.

Team official Kazuhito Sakae said he sees the 31-year-old as virtually unbeatable for years to come, including at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

"I think she can even compete until she's 40 years old," Sakae said.

In football, South Korea defeated defending champion Japan 1-0 in their quarterfinal and will meet Thailand, who beat Jordan 2-0, in the semifinals on Tuesday. Iraq downed Saudi Arabia 3-0 and will play North Korea, which defeated the United Arab Emirates 1-0.

South Korea's Jang Kyung-gu won the men's cycling road race, while South Korea won both gold medals given out on the final day of the archery competition.

Wang Yihan defeated Chinese teammate Li Xuerui 2-1 to win gold in badminton women's singles. Indonesia won the badminton men's mixed doubles, with Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan downing South Korea's Yoo Yeon-seong and Lee Yong-dae 2-1.