Huang Qiyuan sets a new Championships Record at the Asian Championships (© IAAF Correspondent)
No one could pose even a token challenge as the Chinese swept the opening day's gold medals in the 15th Asian Athletics Championships at the Rizal Memorial Stadium here today.
There were four gold medals down for decision on this inaugural day and the Chinese picked each one of them to get off to a rollicking start towards further cementing their supremacy in the continent.
Among the winners was Sun Yingjie, the World Championship bronze medallist in the 10,000 metres. In a field of just six runners, three of them practically novices from the host country, Sun Yingjie had to set her own pace, battle with herself and decide what sort of timing she wanted to end up with. Eventually it was 32:37.04.
The 24-year-old Beijing law student, looking at her watch at the end of each lap, shook her head and said: “I was very tired after four competitions. I am not happy with that timing.'' For someone who had clocked a personal best 30:07.20 in Paris, this might not have been satisfying enough, but for the others the pace was too hot to handle.
Sri Lankan Sujeewas Jayasena tried to set some early pace, but found that Sun Yingjie was just playing along. Once into the eighth lap, the Chinese just shifted gears and took off. The rest could just watch in awe. Jayasena kept up her chase in second place while India's Aruna Devi tagged them along in third, with the Filipinos Christabel Martes, Mercedita Manipol and Flordeliza Cachero content to jog along well behind.
Sun Yingjie first lapped the Indian and then, with seven laps remaining, she lapped the Sri Lankan as well. In the end the Chinese had a 600-metre lead over Jayasena at the finish. For someone who keeps shifting from marathon to the track and back, the heavy load seems to be something like routine. Yet, when asked about the sheer volume of work she had taken over for herself the past three weeks, all Sun Yingjie could say was: “It is very tiring''.
Her ultimate aim is to better Wang Junxia's World record of 29:31.78 set in Beijing in 1993.
The other gold medals of the day for China came from Li Meiju in the women’s Shot Put, Huang Qiuyan in the women’s Triple Jump and Wu Tao in the men’s Discus Throw.
Each one of them was on expected lines, though China did have disappointments in not gathering the lesser medals in all the events. Nuermaimaiti Tulake could manage only a 59.48 in men's discus for the fourth place behind Iranian Abbas Samimi and Indian Anil Kumar. Samimi, a late inclusion in Iranian entry lists, edged the Indian by a mere centimetre, at 59.51 to 59.50.
China did pick up the bronze in women's triple jump where Zhang Hao (13.63) came behind Uzbekistan's Anastasiya Juravleva, a comparative newcomer to the senior Asian level. Huang Qiyuan's 14.39m was a championship record, bettering Ren Ruiping's 1998 effort of 14.11 metres. Since Huang Qiuyan herself holds the Asian record of 14.72, this was of no great significance, but considering the poor condition of the runway and the soggy sand-pit, following two days of rain, this was remarkable all the same.
There was no one to push Li Meiju in the shot put except team-mate Li Fenfeng. Li Meiju touched 18.45 with the other Li reaching 18.07. No one else reached 18 metres. Japan's Chinatsu Mori took the bronze at 17.80 with the defending champion, Juthaporn Krasaeyan of Thailand (17.52m) down to the fifth position behind Busan Asian Games silver medallist Lee Myung-Sun of Korea (17.60m).
Elsewhere, defending champion Yvonne Kanazawa of Japan had a scare in the women's 100m Hurdles heats, clinching her place in the final only as a fastest loser as she came fourth (14.64) in a heat won by Chinese Su Yiping in 13.40. Sri Lankan Sriyani Kulawansa and Thai Trecia Roberts also qualified without a hitch along with the other Chinese, Feng Yun.
The battle was joined in the men's 400 metres, with the heats producing some good timing. Hamdan Al-Bishi of Saudi Arabia (46.15) and Fawzi Al-Shammari of Kuwait (46.50), the top two favourites, won their heats. So did Sri Lankan Sugath Tillakeratne with a fast 46.38.
By an IAAF Correspondent
Results - Finals only - day one
Men
Discus
1. Wu Tao (Chn) 61.43m, 2. Abbas Samimi (Iri) 59.51, 3. Anil Kumar (Ind) 59.50.
Women
10,000m
1. Sun Yingjie (Chn) 32:37.04, 2. Sujeewa N. Jayasena (Sri) 34:46.99, 3. L. Aruna Devi (Ind) 37:23.28.
Triple jump
1. Huang Qiyuan (Chn) 14.39m (NMR, old 14.11m,, 2. Anastasiya Juravleva (Uzb) 14.21, 3. Zhang Hao (Chn) 13.63.
Shot put
1. Li Meiju (Chn) 18.45m, 2. Li Fengfeng (Chn) 18.07, 3. Mori Chinatsu (Jpn) 17.80.
