Japan dare to dream

JAKARTA: Japan’s 4x100 metres relay team added gold to their Rio silver on the last night of Asian Games athletics on Thursday, as they dared to dream of a shock victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Three of the four sprinters who earned Japan a stunning second behind Usain Bolt’s Jamaica at the 2016 Olympics teamed up again for a dominant showing in Jakarta.

They led from the start to win in 38.16, while home team Indonesia drew a massive cheer by holding on to finish second, ahead of China.

“We came here for the gold so we are happy to get the job done,” said Ryota Yamagata. “We have pressure for the Olympics but we have confidence too.

“We want to get gold — I think it is possible.”

Yamagata said the win was a great introduction for new member Shuhei Tada — replacing Shota Iizuka — even if their time was 0.56 seconds slower than in Brazil.

“We were aiming to go under 38 seconds but we attacked the race and got what we came for,” he said.

Elsewhere, Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong added the 4x100m gold to her 100m and 200m victories, but fell short of an unprecedented fourth win in the 4x400m – which started less than two hours after her earlier win.

“I thank God for giving me the three gold medals, and I’m very happy,” she said.