Asian Games 2014: Day 4 Results, Updated Medal Table and Incheon Schedule
The 2014 Asiad is up and running in earnest, and Day 4 was jam-packed with enthralling action, including a shock in the final of the men's squash competition.
It’s around this juncture where teams begin to look at the medal table and assess their overall standing. If things aren’t going well, suddenly the rest of the nation’s athletes feel pressure and an obligation to perform.
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On Day 4, China continued to assert their dominance over the rest of the field, and in the pool they were enormously impressive. India, though—after picking up a gold medal on Day 1—will be disappointed not to have added to their tally of triumphs after heartbreak in the squash.
Here’s a look at how the medal table is shaping up at the conclusion of Day 4 and a rundown of some of the day’s biggest stories.
| 1 | China | 40 | 21 | 20 | 81 |
| 2 | Korea | 18 | 19 | 21 | 58 |
| 3 | Japan | 16 | 22 | 22 | 60 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 4 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| 5 | DPR Korea | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
| 6 | Mongolia | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | Malaysia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 9 | Myanmar | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Vietnam | 1 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| 11 | Iran | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | Kuwait | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| 13 | India | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| 15 | Thailand | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 16 | Indonesia | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 17 | Macau | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | Uzbekistan | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 19 | Singapore | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 20 | Turkmenistan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Judo - Women's Team Final - Gold Medal Match | Japan | Korea | |
| Judo - Men's Team Final - Gold Medal Match | Korea | Kazakhstan | |
| Women's Changquan Final | KAN Wencong (CHN) | GENG Xiaoling (HKG) | TAN Yan Ni (SIN) |
| Men's Taijiquan | CHEN Zhouli (CHN) | PARANTAC Daniel (PHI) | NYEIN Chan Ko Ko (MYA) |
| Men's Omnium | HASHIMOTO Eiya (JPN) | CHO Hosung (KOR) | CHEUNG King Lok (HKG) |
| Women's 400m Individual Medley Final | YE Shiwen (CHN) | SHIMIZU Sakiko (JPN) | NGUYEN Thi Anh Vien (VIE) |
| Women's 50m Backstroke Final | FU Yuanhui (CHN) | RUDENKO Yekaterina (KAZ) | TAKEMURA Miyuki (JPN) |
| Men's 50m Freestyle Final | NING Zetao (CHN) | SHIOURA Shinri (JPN) | ITO Kenta (JPN) |
| Men's 200m Breaststroke Final | BALANDIN Dmitry (KAZ) | KOHINATA Kazuki (JPN) | KOSEKI Yasuhiro (JPN) |
| Women's 100m Butterfly Final | CHEN Xinyi (CHN) | LU Ying (CHN) | TAO Li (SIN) |
| Men's 400m Freestyle Final | SUN Yang (CHN) | HAGINO Kosuke (JPN) | PARK Taehwan (KOR) |
| Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final | China | Japan | Hong Kong, China |
| Squash - Women's Singles Gold Medal Match | David Nicol Ann (MAS) | Low Wee Wern (MAS) | |
| Squash - Men's Singles Gold Medal Match | Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) | Ghosal Saurav (IND) | |
| Synchronized swimming - Free Combination - Final | China | Japan | Kazakhstan |
Shock In The Squash
There was a major shock in the final of the men’s squash, as pre-tournament favourite Saurav Ghosal was beaten by Abdullah Almezayen of Kuwait by a score of 10-12, 2-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9.
The 28-year-old from Kolkata looked to have had the final sewn up as he raced into a two-game lead, but his Kuwaiti opponent staged an unbelievable and unexpected fight back. Almezayen took three games in a row to win the gold medal, prompting Ghosal to smash his racket in frustration at the end of the match.
Ghosal took to Twitter after the match to further express his disappointment:
Ghosal looked set to add to India’s gold-medal tally, but his defeat marks another blow for a nation that’s not performed to their best at these Asian Games. Indeed, Jitu Rai’s gold medal on Day 1 is the only event India have won, leaving the nation languishing near the bottom of the medals table.
They have won myriad bronze medals, though, which suggests the talent is there. But like Ghosal, the athletes on the Indian team seem to struggle when making that final push for gold. While it’s early days yet, as the games roll on, India will be hoping for a much more prosperous time of things.
Kosuke Hagino Finally Beaten in The Pool
After snaffling three gold medals already in Incheon, all eyes were on Hagino to see if he could notch his fourth in the 400-meter freestyle. But in Sun Yang, the 20-year-old had an exceptional opponent over the middle-distance event.
There were queries as to whether Yang would take part in this race after he was omitted from China’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay team, but all the evidence from this performance suggested he was resting up for individual glory.
Yang edged out Hagino to gain revenge for the 200-meter freestyle, an event in which the Japanese sensation took a shock victory earlier in the week. His gold was one of many for the Chinese team on a night where they triumphed in all but one of the finals in the pool.
Home favourite Park Tae-Hwan was expected to feature in the shake-up for the medal positions in the 400-meter freestyle, but he was well off the pace in third position. Nonetheless, at this juncture there look to be few continents on the planet that can match the Asian competitors when it comes to men’s freestyle swimming.
Elsewhere, spectators were treated to three games records, the most impressive of which came from 19-year-old Dmitry Balandin, who picked up a shock win in the 200-meter breaststroke. He posted a time of two minutes, 7.67 seconds in the final, smashing his pre-tournament best by circa six seconds and obliterating legendary Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima’s 12-year-old record in this competition.
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