Zhang Qi winning the shot put at the 2005 East Asian Games (© Peh Siong San)
The best, it seems, was kept for last as athletes at the East Asian Games in Macau finally put up more respectable performances at the athletics competition on Day Four following three rather modest days. And when the curtains came down, China, as expected, topped the medal table with 26 gold medals while Japan and Korea collected 16 and three respectively.
Leading the way on Day Four for China was Zhang Qi, who set a new Games mark in the men’s Shot Put with his throw of 20.06m. Along the way, the 21-year-old showed his consistency as he had recorded 20.15m recently to become the first Chinese man to go beyond 20m. His win here at Macau was convincing as teammate Jia Peng, who won the silver, could only manage 18.84m. South Korea’s Shon Hyun took the bronze with his effort of 18.06m.
In the men’s Triple Jump, winner Kim Deok Hyeon of Korea shone with his distance of 16.79m, another Games record. He edged out Japan’s Yohei Kajikawa (16.45m) and China’s Zhu Shujing (16.38m) who had to settle for the silver and bronze respectively.
Another Games reocrd came in the women’s 100m Hurdles when China’s Feng Yun took the gold in 13.09. Teammate Su Yiping (13.44) was second while Japan’s Kumiko Ikeda (13.45) was third. For Feng, the win over the experienced Su was satisfying as the latter had beaten her recently at the Chinese National Games in Nanjing. There, Su (13.05) finished second while Feng (13.08) was third as Liu Jing (12.96) stamped her superiority.
In the distance races, precisely the events in which Asians have done well internationally in recent years, the times were painfully slow. In the 5000m, Olympic 10,000m champion Xing Huina of China clocked a leisurely 16:04.56 as she beat Japan’s Hiromi Ominami (16:10.77) and Korea’s Bae Haejin (16:35.35). Earlier this month, Xing clocked 15:20.09 when she took the title in the event at the Chinese National Games.
The pace for the men’s 5000m was also slow, with Japan’s Yuki Nakamura (14:05.77) winning from teammate Tomohiro Seto (14:16.44) and Korea’s Lee Duheang. Equally modest were the points tallied by the heptathletes. China’s Wang Hailan (5932) showed she was the best all-round female athlete here while Japan’s Yukik Nakata (5719) amd Chinami Yasuda (5292) struggled to keep up. These totals pale in comparison to those chalked up by China’s athletes at its National Games. There, Wang totaled 6128 points to take the bronze behind winner Shen Shengfei (6165) and Liu Haili (6132).
The four-day competition at Macau Stadium ended with China establishing its regional supremacy. But, unlike in swimming – the other much-followed sport in any major Games - where there were some truly outstanding performances, the track and field competition was generally a low key affair. This wasn’t too surprising. While China did bring some of its biggest names, many had peaked earlier in Nanjing. As for Japan, almost all its stars were missing, including Olympic champion Hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, World Championship bronze medallists Shingo Suetsugu (200m) and Dai Tamesue (400m Hurdles), and newly-crowned Asian Champion Miho Sugimori (800m/1500m). There were, however some notable performances, including those by China’s Olympic champion Liu Xiang (13.21 in the 110m Hurdles) and Zhang Qi (20.06m in Shot Put).
Chua Chong Jin for the IAAF
Leading Results From Day Four:
MEN -
5000m
1. Yuki Nakamura (JPN) 14:05.77
2. Tomohiro Seto (JPN) 14:16.44
3. Lee Duhaeng (KOR) 14:24.03
Shot Put
1. Zhang Qi (CHN) 20.06 (NGR)
2. Jia Peng (CHN) 18.84
3. Shon Hyun (KOR) 18.06
Triple jump
1. Kim Deok Hyeon (KOR) 16.79 (NGR)
2. Yohei Kajikawa (JPN) 16.45
3. Zhu Shujing (CHN) 16.38
4x400m
1. JPN 3:07.70
2. TPE 3:09.06
3. KOR 3:12.10
Women
100m Hurdles
1. Feng Yun (CHN) 13.09 (NGR)
2. Su Yiping (CHN) 13.44
3. Kumiko Ikeda (JPN) 13.45
5000m
1. Xing Huina (CHN) 16:04.56
2. Hiromi Ominami (JPN) 16:10.77
3. Bae Haejin (KOR) 16:35.35
Heptathlon
1. Wang Hailan (CHN) 5932
2. Yuki Nakata (JPN) 5719
3. Chinami Yasuda (JPN) 5292
4x400m
1. CHN 3:33.59
2. JPN 3:36.64
3. MAC 4:05.61
