Asian Games, day 4: China pair seal racewalking golds, kata bronze for Hong Kong’s men

Men’s title a landmark achievement for China, with success marking the 200th gold in athletics at the regional multi-sport event

China’s racewalkers secured a landmark gold as they dominated the half marathons at the Asian Games on Wednesday, winning both the men’s and women’s events.

A new distance compared to the 20km version contested at previous Asian Games, Shi Shengji stormed to the men’s title at the Aichi-Nagoya race walking course in one hour, 23 minutes and 32 seconds.

The 19-year-old from Jiangsu built up a commanding lead of almost four and a half minutes over world and Asian double-record holder Toshikazu Yamanishi of Japan, who finished in 1:28:01.

Choe Byeong-kwong of South Korea took bronze in 1:28:35, while Hongkonger Chin Man-kit finished fifth out of nine contestants, crossing the line in 1:34:26. China’s Li Chenjie was disqualified.