Tang Qianting Sets Asian 50m Breaststroke Record As China Hint At Sweeping Day 1 Golds At Asian Games
Tang Qianting set an Asian 50m breaststroke record as China hinted at a clean sweep of gold on the first day of prelims at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Tang went 29.92 to become the first Asian woman to dip inside 30secs and slice 0.16 from her own standard of 30.08 from the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
Behind her freestyle specialist and Tokyo double medallist Siobhan Haughey demolished her Hong Kong record in 30.46 with Satomi Suzuki – winner at the 2014 and 2018 editions – next home in 30.53.
The men’s 100 free promises to be a thriller with Wang Haoyu booking lane four in 48.13.
Wang turned 18 three days before claiming silver in Fukuoka after swimming the men’s medley relay heats and on Sunday he split 23.11/25.02 for top spot.
Hwang Sunwoo – the double 200 free world medallist – booked a slot alongside the Chinese in 48.54 with Asian record-holder Pan Zhanle and Katsuhiro Matsumoto both clocking 48.66.
The men’s 200IM also promises a real tussle of tight proportions with Qin Haiyang – winner of the breaststroke treble in Fukuoka – topping the field thanks to a 33.05 breaststroke leg as he clocked 1:58.72.
Chinese teammate and Olympic champion Wang Shun will be in lane five after going 1:58.84 with Japan’s Daiya Seto the only other man inside 2mins in 1:59.55.
Zhang Yufei got the ball rolling at the 19th Asian Games when she went 2:07.46 for top seed in the 200 fly, Xu Jiayu had plenty of reserve after 53.68 in the 100 back, the only man inside 54 and China led the way into the women’s 4×100 free final in 3:37.53.
Li Bingjie sets out on her freestyle odyssey that encompasses 200-1500 and everything in between this evening when she is favourite to take gold in the fast heat of the longest race in the pool.