Day 11 Roundup: China completes clean sweep of golds in diving as Games hit by 3rd doping case

Chinese diver Yang Hao competes in the men's 10m platform at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

China completed a clean sweep of 10 gold medals in diving at the Hangzhou Asian Games, while the continental showpiece was hit by a third doping case.

HANGZHOU, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China completed a clean sweep of 10 gold medals in diving at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday, while the continental showpiece was hit by a third doping case.

With four days to go before the Games close, China has lifted its medal tally to 316, including 171 gold, followed by Japan with 37 golds and South Korea with 33.

China's world champion Chen Yiwen triumphed in the women's 3m springboard with 382.00 points, beating her compatriot Chang Yani into second place in 350.25. Japan's Sayaka Mikami came third in 304.65. Chen and Chang also won the synchro 3m springboard in Hangzhou.

Asked about her future plans, Chen said, "We have two Olympic qualifiers in November and December, so my main focus is on these two qualifiers. I want to compete for two gold medals for China, for myself and for the team, but I hope I can do it more perfectly than this time."

Chinese diver Chen Yiwen celebrates winning the women's 3m springboard gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

China also finished 1-2 in the men's 10m platform, the final event of diving competition. Yang Hao, bronze medalist of the event at the Fukuoka worlds, claimed the gold with six solid dives. Bai Yuming took silver and Japan's Rikuto Tamai had bronze.

Since their Asian Games debut in 1974, Chinese divers have never let a single title slip away.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed late in the night that Philippine cyclist Ariana Thea Patrice Dormitorio Evangelista tested positive for non-specified prohibited substance erythropoietin (EPO).

Evangelista competed in the women's cross-country mountain bike competition on September 25 and finished 13th.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia's long-distance runner Mohammed Yousef Al-Asiri and Afghan boxer Mohammad Khaibar Nooristani both had been suspended after failing drug tests during the Asiad.

Qieyang Shijie spearheaded China to the 35km race walk mixed team title, the only gold won by the host nation in athletics on Wednesday.

Chinese race walker Qieyang Shijie competes in the 35km race walk mixed team event at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

For the 32-year-old race walker, the day was made more special when she received an Olympic gold medal that should have been awarded to her 11 years ago.

Qieyang was reallocated the gold for the women's 20km race walk event of the London 2012 Olympics, after the original top two finishers were stripped of their medals for doping.

The fifth-placed finisher in that race was also disqualified for doping, so China's Liu Hong and Lyu Xiuzhi, originally ranked fourth and sixth in London 2012, were given the silver and bronze accordingly.

At the same ceremony, Chinese sprinters Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye, Wu Zhiqiang and Tang Xingqiang also received the men's 4x100m relay bronze from the Tokyo Olympics, as Britain's relay team was stripped of the Olympic medal due to Chijindu Ujah's doping offense.

At the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, India's javelin king Neeraj Chopra produced a brilliant throw of 88.88 meters to strike gold, and his teammate Kishore Kumar Jena took silver with 87.54.

"It feels great when we push each other to go farther and farther," said Chopra.

Chinese players leave the court after losing to the Philippines in the men's basketball semifinal at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

In the men's high jump, Qatar's Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim won the gold after clearing 2.35 meters. South Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok grabbed silver with a 2.33-meter leap, while Tomohiro Shinno of Japan cleared 2.29 meters for a bronze.

Uzbekistan's Sharifa Davronova won the women's triple jump with a leap of 14.09 meters, followed by China's Zeng Rui with 13.92 and Japan's Mariko Morimoto with 13.78.

Elsewhere, China beat South Korea in straight sets to reach the women's volleyball semifinals, but its men's basketball team suffered a shock exit from the Asiad following a 77-76 defeat by the Philippines in the semifinals.