China dominates medal table; S. Korea, Japan compete for 2nd

A Chinese fan runs with a Chinese flag after Zhang Nan, right, and Zhao Yunlei of China won the mixed doubles badminton final match against Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia at Gyeyang gymnasium in Incheon, Monday. Halfway through the Incheon Asian Games, China is running away from the pack atop the medal standings, with South Korea and Japan competing for second place. / AP-Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Halfway through the Incheon Asian Games, China is running away from the pack atop the medal standings, with South Korea and Japan battling for second place.

As of Tuesday morning, China ― which as expected has dominated most of the events, including swimming, diving and badminton ― looks unbeatable with 239 medals, including 113 golds, 72 silvers and 54 bronzes.

China has finished at the top of the medal standings for the past eight Asian Games in a row. At the 2010 Guangzhou Asiad, the Chinese collected a record 416 medals, including 199 golds, nearly three times the haul of runners-up South Korea.

China has sent an imposing 899 athletes to Incheon, which account for about one-tenth of all contenders from the 45 participating countries. It is looking to eclipse the Guangzhou mark, expecting more medals from almost all events, including table tennis, athletics and ball games.

South Korea got off to a good start. It shot to the top on the medal tally on the second day of the event, winning five golds, five silvers and three bronzes. The country has collected 146 medals ― 44 golds, 50 silvers and 52 bronzes.

South Korea hopes for a fifth consecutive second-place finish at the Asiad as the host has deployed its largest-ever Asiad delegation of 1,068, including 831 athletes competing in all 36 events.

Initially, the country aimed to win more than 90 golds, but it may have to adjust its objective after many of its gold-medal contenders including swimmer Park Tae-hwan, gymnast Yang Hak-seon, badminton player Lee Yong-dae and shooter Jin Jong-oh failed to deliver.

However, South Korean fencers and archers have proven again to be the best in Asia, snatching eight golds out of the 10 total in fencing and five golds of the eight in archery.

Japan, one of the three sports powerhouses in Asia, has been underperforming, pocketing 35 golds, 47 silvers and 51 bronzes. But the country has seen some new mega stars emerge at the event.

Swimmer Kosuke Hagino stole the limelight when he raced to the gold in the 200-meter freestyle ahead of Park Tae-hwan and Chinese sensation Sun Yang last week, either of whom was expected to capture the gold.

That was considered one of the biggest upsets at the Games, and the Japanese dark horse will return home with seven medals, including four golds in the sport.

Japanese gymnasts pulled off another interesting upset in their defeat of 10-time defending champions China in clinching the gold in the men’s gymnastics all-round team last week.

Apart from the top three, other countries have also impressived.

North Korea made it into the top 10 of the medal standing, raised largely by its weightlifters, who won nine of the 27 medals the country has bagged so far. On their way to four golds among them, three North Korean weightlifters set world records.

Currently ranked sixth in the medal standings, the North is expected to have its most successful Asiad campaign.

It came in ninth at the 2002 Busan Asian Games with nine golds, 11 silvers and 13 bronzes, but it was ranked at the 16th at the Doha in 2006 and 12th at the Guangzhou.

Hong Kong has also been performing well. They saw their first-ever gymnastics gold when Shek Wai-Hung outperformed reigning Olympic and world Champion Yang Hak-seon of South Korea in the men’s vault, Saturday. It was also one of the four golds Hong Kong won so far.

India’s Yogeshwar Dutt also won the country’s first Asiad gold medal in wrestling since 1986 after beating Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan in men’s 65 kg freestyle on Sunday.