The young Chinese swimmer Zhang Zhanshu concluded the Asian Games with a historic achievement, after he became the first swimmer to win 7 gold medals in one edition of the Games, confirming his rise as a new star in the skies of Asian swimming, while China continued to impose its absolute dominance in the swimming pools.
On the closing night at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, 19-year-old Zhang added gold in the 400-meter freestyle to his tally, setting a new Games record of 3 minutes and 41.28 seconds. After crossing the finish line, he raised 7 fingers in celebration of his exceptional achievement, which will go down in the championship records.
Zhang won gold in the 200, 400, and 1,500 meter freestyle races, in addition to 3 golds in the relay races, raising his tally to 7 golds, exceeding the previous record of 6 gold medals, recorded by Chinese Zhang Yufei and Japanese Rikako Ike.
He was only surpassed in total medals during one Asian tournament by North Korean shooter Soo Jin-man, who collected 7 golds and a silver in the New Delhi tournament in 1982.
However, the Chinese swimmer seemed far from being satisfied with what he had achieved, stressing that his ambitions go beyond the borders of the Asian continent. He said: “The Asian Games are not my ultimate goal. “I still aspire to participate in the Olympic Games and compete with the best swimmers in the world.”
Zhang is seen as one of the most prominent candidates to lead Chinese swimming in the coming years, and perhaps the natural heir to Sun Yang, one of the most successful and controversial swimmers in the country's history.
Zhang's gold tally contributed to China ending the swimming competitions with a huge tally of 30 gold medals out of 41 races, while Japan came second by a wide margin after being satisfied with 7 golds.
The tournament also represented an ideal platform for the emergence of a new generation of talent, as 13-year-old Chinese Yu Zi Di caught the attention by winning three gold medals, while Japanese Shin Ohashi achieved a remarkable achievement by winning the 200-meter breaststroke title while breaking the world record.
But experienced people had another opinion as well. Chen Haiyang retained the 50-meter breaststroke title, beating Ohashi, who settled for bronze.
Zhang Yufei also continued her brilliance by winning a gold medal in the 50-meter butterfly, adding her fourth title in the championship, before making an impact on the podium, in a race that brought to mind chapters of her long rivalry with Japan's Rikako Ike.
Despite Chinese dominance, the Philippines found space to celebrate thanks to its Olympic champion Carlos Yulo, who won gold on vault in gymnastics. The achievement came just one day after he was crowned with floor exercise gold, despite the difficulties he faced in the qualifiers.
“Today was like a miracle,” Yolo said. “I felt afraid during training after I failed to execute the movement properly, but I trusted my abilities.”
In table tennis, Chinese dominance that lasted for decades fell after the Japanese national team snatched the men's gold with a 3-2 victory in the final, depriving China of the title for the first time since the 1990 Beijing tournament. Tomokazu Harimoto was the Japanese achievement champion, after achieving two decisive victories, including a landslide victory over world number one Wang Zhuqin.
“What was missing was the belief that we could defeat them,” Harimoto said. Today we finally got what we had been missing for a long time...confidence.” On the other hand, China quickly regained some of its prestige, after the women's team won team gold for the sixth time in a row following a landslide victory over Japan in the final.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen seized the lead in the last moments, depriving Mercedes driver George Russell of complete dominance in the free trials of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after he recorded the fastest time in the last session, on Friday, before the start of qualifying trials.
The Red Bull driver clocked one minute and 43.922 seconds, just 0.099 seconds ahead of Russell. Lewis Hamilton achieved third place after setting a fast lap that put him only 0.111 seconds away from Verstappen, confirming Ferrari's readiness to compete in the streets of Baku.
The world championship leader, young Italian Kimi Antonelli, came in fourth place, recovering from Thursday's setback when he lost important time due to a malfunction in the hydraulic system. Russell, 81 points behind his teammate Antonelli after 14 rounds of the season, had taken control of the first two practice sessions, and seemed on his way to setting the fastest time for the third time in a row, before Verstappen spoiled his plans with a decisive late lap.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth with Ferrari, knowing that the Monaco driver had started from first place in Baku four times before, without succeeding in converting any of them into a win, while Pierre Gasly finished sixth with Alpine. McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris came in seventh and eighth place, ahead of Ishak Hajjar, who returned to the Red Bull lineup after missing three races due to a wrist injury. Argentine Franco Colapinto completed the top ten list, finishing tenth with Alpine.
Although the session passed without any stops, the strong winds put the drivers under constant pressure. Russell almost paid a heavy price at one of the turns, after he approached the barriers dangerously, but he was able to regain control of his car at the right moment. On the other hand, Aston Martin's suffering continued, after Lance Stroll collided with a barrier and his car's tire suffered a puncture, in a new episode of a difficult weekend for the team. Stroll and his Spanish colleague Fernando Alonso, two-time world champion, will start the race from the back of the starting line after major penalties related to changing the components of the power unit.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the first round of a series of three consecutive races, will be held on Saturday this year, as Azerbaijan celebrates its National Day on Sunday.
