Swimming roundup at Hangzhou Asiad

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Ye Shiwen of China competes during the Women's 200m Breaststroke Final of Swimming at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

China's Ye Shiwen underlined her return to top form by claiming the women's 200m breaststroke title, while star swimmer Zhang Yufei won the women's 50m freestyle final to bring her gold tally to five at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Thursday.

Ye, the 27-year-old London Olympic gold medalist, secured two golds at Guangzhou 2010 and three at Incheon 2014. Nine years later, she won gold again in the Asiad pool with a time of two minutes 23.84 seconds.

"The result did not live up to my expectations, so I don't think I have reached my peak now," said Ye, who snatched two gold medals in London at the age of 16.

Ye said that the gold medal has greatly boosted her confidence and it's delightful to stand atop the podium in her home city of Hangzhou.

"I may have thought that I was at my peak at London 2012, but now I believe I will usher in a new pinnacle in the future," she said.

Kwon Se-hyun of South Korea finished second in 2:26.31 and Japan's Runa Imai came third in 2:26.41.

Zhang displayed her versatility as she set a Games record of 24.26 seconds in the 50m freestyle, adding to her two butterfly titles. She also triumphed in two relays in Hangzhou.

Zhang edged Siobhan Bernadette Haughey of Hong Kong, China by a margin of 0.08 seconds to come out on top. Haughey, the runner-up in both the 100m and 200m free at the Tokyo Olympics, had clinched the 100m and 200m titles. China's Cheng Yujie was third in 24.60.

In the men's 200m breaststroke, Chinese sensation Qin Haiyang timed a Games record of 2:07.03 for the gold, which was far behind his 2:05.48 world record set at the Fukuoka worlds in July. His countryman Dong Zhihao came second in 2:08.67, while Japan's Ippei Watanabe finished third in 2:09.91.

As the first swimmer in history to sweep three breaststroke gold medals in a single World Championships, the 24-year-old Chinese will try to repeat his achievement at the Asiad. He will compete in the 50m breast on Friday.

China also won the men's 4x100m freestyle relay in a new Asian record of 3:10.88, surpassing the previous mark of 3:11.38 it set at the Fukuoka worlds. South Korea placed second and Japan grabbed the bronze.

In the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, China's quartet of Liu Yaxin, Cheng Yujie, Li Bingjie and Li Jiaping won the gold in 7:49.34, ahead of Japan and South Korea.

In other races, Baek In-chul from South Korea clinched the men's 50m butterfly title in a Games record time of 23.29 seconds, while Singapore's Teong Tzen Wei finished second and Kazakhstan's Adilbek Mussin won the bronze.

South Korea's Kim Woo-min claimed the men's 800m freestyle title in 7:46.03, with China's Fei Liwei coming second and Vietnam's Nguyen Huy Hoang finishing third.

Gold Medalist Ye Shiwen (C) of China, Silver Medalist Kwon Sehyun (L) of South Korea and Bronze Medalist Imai Runa of Japan attend the awarding ceremony for Women's 200m Breaststroke of Swimming at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)