DOHA, Qatar, December 2. IN one of the few meets the world gets the chance to see the Chinese contingent before the Beijing Olympiad, China did not disappoint. Overall, the Chinese claimed all four women's gold medals up for grabs at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar on Dec. 2, while splitting the two men's medals with Japan.
By far the best outing, Wu Peng clocked a 1:54.91 in the 200 fly. Wu's outing was the 11th-fastest swim in history by the World Championship bronze medalist and only Michael Phelps, Athens silver medalist Takashi Yamamoto and France's Franck Esposito have been faster.
Women's 200 Freestyle
China came out strong with a top-two sweep when Pang Jiaying touched in 1:59.26 for gold, while Yang Yu earned silver in 2:00.73. Japan's Maki Mita finished third in 2:00.78.
Men's 400 IM
Japan scored a top-two sweep of its own as Hidemasa Sano turned in a first-place time of 4:16.18 and Shinya Taniguchi took silver in 4:17.91. Korea's Kyu Chul Han wrapped up the bronze in 4:21.78.
Women's 100 Butterfly
China continued to dominate the women's meets with another 1-2 finish. Zhou Yafei came up .01 seconds short of breaking the Asian record with a first-place 58.39, while Xu Yanwei placed second in 58.73. Singapore's Li Tao picked up bronze in 58.96.
Women's 50 Breaststroke
China went 1-3 in the short breaststroke as Ji Liping won in 31.52. Her teammate, Wang Qun, took bronze in 32.53. Japan's Asami Kitagawa split the difference in 32.27.
Men's 200 Butterfly
China won the event, but Japan demonstrated depth with a 2-3 finish. Wu Peng, of China, hit the wall first in 1:54.91, while Japan's Takeshi Matsuda (1:55.49) and Ryuichi Shibata (1:56.44) took second and third, respectively.
Women's 400 Medley Relay
China's team of Zhao Jing, Luo Nan, Zhou Yafei and Pang Jiaying won gold in 4:04.22. Meanwhile, Japan's foursome of Reiko Nakamura, Asami Kitagawa, Yuko Nakanishi and Maki Mita garnered silver in 4:05.14, while Korea's quartet of Nam Eun Lee, Seul Ki Jung, Hae In Shin and Yoon Ji Ryu rounded out the top three in 4:09.22