China wins four gold medals in swimming and retains table tennis team title

The Indian women's cricket team once again demonstrated its dominance at the continental level, securing its second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games. On Tuesday, in the final, the team crushed long-time rivals Sri Lanka with a score of 147 runs.

The gold medal, won by the team under Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership, was India's first of the current tournament. The victory was secured by a brilliant batting performance that forced Sri Lanka to chase a record target of 217 runs.

Smriti Mandhana played brilliantly, scoring 79 runs off 45 balls, while Richa Ghosh added powerful late-over hits, taking India's score to 216 for three wickets. This set a new record for the Asian Games.

After reaching this record total, the outcome of the match became clear. All hopes for Sri Lanka rested on captain Chamari Atapattu (29 runs off 21 balls), but she could not counter the Indians. Sri Lanka capitulated, scoring only 69 runs across all overs, which took 15.4 overs, as the Indian spinners completely controlled the game against them.

Shafali Verma showed versatile play, scoring 48 runs and taking 2.3 wickets, while Dipti Sharma (3 wickets for 6 balls) and Shri Charani (2 wickets) traditionally helped the team in the final, which was not an even contest.

India was considered the clear favorite for the title and lived up to expectations, securing three confident victories throughout the competition. Similar to the Asia Cup earlier this month, Sri Lanka found itself in the losing position in the final, unable to compete with their familiar rivals.

Pakistan won the bronze medal by defeating Bangladesh with a comfortable margin of 31 runs earlier that day. Since the scenario for the Indian women's team unfolded according to plan, it was expected that the men's team would also defend its title.

The team maximized the advantages of powerplay after winning the draw. Mandhana (79 runs off 45 balls) and Shafali (48 runs off 29 balls) took the team to 59 without loss in six overs. Both batters are in excellent form since the Asia Cup, making a significant contribution to the team's success in the decisive final by building a partnership of 99 runs off 60 balls. Sri Lanka's weak bowling allowed these batters to dictate the terms of the game, with both being extremely effective against the spinners.

At the 2026 Asian Games in Aitih-Nagoa, China secured 12 gold medals on Monday. This day was marked by several sporting achievements, including setting multiple records and successfully defending the title in the men's all-around gymnastics event by Zang Boheng, marking the second consecutive day of strong performances by the delegation.

Swimmers contributed to China's haul of five gold medals, setting two Asian records and one Asian Games record from Tokyo.

The most prominent individual performance was the victory of Yu Jidi in women's swimming in the 200-meter individual medley. The thirteen-year-old athlete won with a time of 2:06.10, improving the previous Asian record held by her compatriot Yu Yiting, who finished second with a time of 2:07.99. Mio Narita from Japan won the bronze medal.

Yu Jidi's winning time was only 0.40 seconds faster than the world record of 2:05.70 set by Summer McIntosh from Canada. This victory was the second gold for the teenager at the Asian Games following her previous triumph in the women's 200-meter butterfly.

China also broke another Asian record in the evening's final race—the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Although Japan led early in the competition, Pan Zhanle closed the gap in the third leg. Then Zhang Zhanshuo delivered a powerful final sprint of 1:42.92, overtaking his Japanese rival in the last 50 meters and securing the win for the Chinese quartet after trailing.

Xu Haibo, Fei Liwei, Pan, and Zhang finished with a time of 7:00.17, thereby lowering the Asian record and beating Japan by 0.88 seconds. Athletes from the Republic of Korea took the bronze medal with a time of 7:06.76.

Swimming veteran Xu Jiayou was also recognized in the record books as he successfully defended his title in the men's 50-meter backstroke. The 31-year-old athlete covered the distance in 24.04 seconds, breaking the Asian Games record, while his compatriot Wang Zhining took second place with a time of 24.49.

Xu's time was slower than his own Asian record of 23.92 set earlier this year, so his achievement is counted as a Games record rather than a continental standard.

China also won gold in the women's 50-meter backstroke thanks to Wang Letian, and Dun Zhixiao shared the title in the men's 100-meter breaststroke with Japan's Shinon Ohashi, as both finished with a time of 58.64 seconds. Chinese swimmers concluded the evening with five gold medals across seven finals.

In Nagoa, Zang Boheng managed to retain his title in the men's all-around gymnastics, defeating two Olympic champions from the host country—Japan. The reigning champion scored 85.065 points across six apparatuses, surpassing Shinnosuke Oku from Paris, the Olympic gold medalist, who finished second with 84.698 points. Tokyo Olympian Daiki Hashimoto placed third with 83.865 points.

Zang climbed in the rankings after starting the pommel horse and took a strong position with 14.700 points on the parallel bars. Knowing he needed to secure the final ring, the 26-year-old athlete reduced the difficulty of his routine and scored 14.033 points to ensure gold. This victory brought China its third consecutive Asian Games championship title in the men's all-around and a total of 12 golds.

Thanks to these 12 victories on Monday, China's overall tally reached 23 gold, 10 silver, and five bronze medals after two full days of competition.