JAPAN-CHINA RULE JAKARTA POOL
Liu cracks world record, Sun shows class while Rikako picks up a fourth gold
The 18-year-old went strokefor-stroke with Zhang Yufei over the first lap but eased away in the final 50 metres to win in 56.30 seconds, her third individual Games record in three finals in Jakarta.
Rikako had to settle for silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay as China’s women won gold by a good 10 metres in 7.48.61. Hong Kong won the bronze.
Earlier, with Kazakhstan’s Olympic champion Dmitriy Balandin skipping the men’s 200 metres breaststroke for fear of aggravating an injury, the way was cleared for Watanabe to back up January’s world record with a first Asian Games title.
It was not to be, however, and despite a late surge for the wall, he came up one hundredth of a second short with his fellow Japanese Yasuhiro Koseki taking the title by a fingertip in 2:07.81.
Sun ensured the 400 freestyle was nowhere near as close, hitting the front at the halfway mark and taking a lead of some three metres into the final lap before retaining his title in 3.42.92.
“It shows I can still compete in the 400m,” said Sun, who beat Japan’s Naito Ehara and Kosuke Hagino into silver and bronze.
“I am very happy given this is day three of the meet. If this race was on day one or two, I’d have done better.”
China also took the men’s 50m freestyle sprint through Yu Hexin (22.11), while Yui Ohashi won the women’s 400 metres medley in 4.34.58 for Japan.