JAKARTA, Sunday: India’s two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar bowed out of the Asian Games on Sunday, but said he felt no pressure after his shock opening-round defeat in the 74kg wrestling category in Jakarta.
The 35-year-old medal favourite went out with a whimper to Adam Batirov from Bahrain as he let slip a 2-1 lead to lose 3-5, despite vocal support from Indian fans.
“I was also not expecting this result. I had prepared, but wins and losses are all part and parcel of sport,” Kumar told reporters, saying he does not take criticism to heart.
“There is no loss of stamina at this age. And no pressure as well. I come far from all that. I enjoy sports and will continue to do that,” he added.
Kumar’s chance of making the repechage round also went up in smoke after Batirov lost his quarter-final to Japan’s Yuhi Fujinami. If Batirov had made the final, Kumar would have had a chance to win bronze through repechage.
China’s Sun Yang completes swimming ‘golden slam’
Chinese giant Sun Yang swept to Asian Games 200m freestyle gold Sunday to add to his Olympic and world titles -- then had his national anthem played twice after a flag-pole malfunction.
The triple Olympic champion produced a blistering last two laps to clock one minute, 45.43 seconds and successfully launch his quest to win five gold medals in Jakarta.
Victory was twice as sweet for Sun, who was stunned by Japan’s Kosuke Hagino at the last Asian Games in 2014 and also took silver behind Korean rival Park Tae-hwan in 2010.
From the moment Sun strode out sporting a bright yellow tracksuit and huge red headphones to roars from flag-waving Chinese fans, there was only ever likely to be one winner.
The 26-year-old favourite absolutely smashed the final, finishing more than a second clear of Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto, celebrating by screaming out loud and punching the air as he soaked up the applause of his adoring fans.
Bizarrely his moment of glory was soured somewhat when the flags fell off the pole during China’s national anthem, prompting Sun to growl at officials and demand a do-over.
But flustered Games officials did away with the faulty pole altogether and simply held the flags.
Earlier, Sun showed a softer side to his gnarly public image by lavishing compliments on rival Hagino.
The controversial Chinese sparked a diplomatic row at the 2014 Asian Games when he branded the Japanese national anthem “ugly”.
China’s Wang Jianjiahe won the women’s 1,500m freestyle title after beating countrywoman Li Bingjie in a battle of 16-year-old schoolgirls, the national champion touching in 15:53.68, just over a tenth quicker than her close friend.
Liu Yaxin won the women’s 200m backstroke in 2:07.65, before world champ Xu Jiayu celebrated his 23rd birthday by capturing gold in the men’s 100m backstroke (52.34) to make it four out of four on the night for China.
Japan stopped the rot as Satomi Suzuki won the women’s 100m breaststroke in a Games record 1:06.40, before Daiya Seto retained his 200m butterfly title in a time of 1:54.53.
China win gold, silver at shooting range
China’s champion duo Ji Xiaojing and Wu Jiayu won the gold medal in the 10m mixed air pistol at the Asiad on Sunday, while India’s teenage shooting sensation made a disappointing early exit.
Ji, 30, and Wu, 21, saw off Korea in the final, adding the Asian Games title to their cabinet after setting a new world record of 487.7 in April at the World Cup in Changwon, Korea.
The pair -- world number four and six respectively -- scored 473.2 on Sunday, short of their best but enough to edge Koreans Kim Minjung and Lee Daemyung into second place with Vietnam bagging bronze.
India’s gold hopefuls Manu Bhaker, 16, and Abhisek Verma, 28, ended up bowing out in sixth place, missing out on a place in the finals.
China’s victory will help offset their earlier result in the 10m mixed air rifle event, in which the country narrowly lost to rivals Taiwan to take silver against teenager Lin Yingshin and her teammate Lu Shaochuan. - AFP
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