China create history with 1,000th gold

Qianwei achieves feat in swimming event.

GUANGZHOU: Hosts China made clear who was boss on the opening day of the Asian Games by claiming 19 gold medals, including its 1,000th since first competing in 1974.

China’s Yuan Xiaochao took the first honours, ensuring his name goes down in the history books as the first gold medal winner in Guangzhou by successfully defending the men’s Changquan title in wushu. It was the first of 476 golds to be decided over two weeks of competition, with China heavily favoured to top the medals table.

Swimmer Zhu Qianwei also made history by claiming China’s 1,000th Asian Games gold, a feat no other nation has achieved. The landmark was reached when she won the women’s 200-metres freestyle, 36 years after China first competed in an Asiad at Tehran in 1974.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.