Daijiworld Media Network - Aichi (Japan)

Aichi (Japan), Sep 22: China continued its dominance in swimming at the 2026 Asian Games, winning four more gold medals on Tuesday, with Peng Xuwei setting a new Asian record while defending her women’s 200m backstroke title.

Zhang Zhanshuo, Li Bingjie and China’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team were the other Chinese gold medallists on the day.

Zhang, 19, claimed his second gold of the Games by winning the men’s 1,500m freestyle in 14 minutes 42.42 seconds. Japan’s Tabuchi Kaito finished second in 14:45.99, while China’s Imafuku Kazushi took bronze in 14:54.37.

Zhang had won his first gold a day earlier as the anchor of China’s victorious men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team. He produced a 1:42.92 split and overtook Japan in the final 50 metres as China clocked an Asian record of 7:00.17, Xinhua reported.

“I just don’t want to lose,” Zhang said after completing what he described as the toughest challenge of the Games. “I think that will give me more motivation and make me look forward to the races ahead.”

Peng successfully defended her women’s 200m backstroke title in 2:05.77, breaking the previous Asian record that had stood for 16 years since the Guangzhou Games.

Her Chinese teammate Sun Mingxia won silver in 2:08.65, while Japan’s Rio Shirai took bronze in 2:08.70.

“2:06.46 (the previous record) has always been a guiding light for me, encouraging me to keep improving and serving as a goal I have pursued,” Peng said.

“I hope this new record can inspire more Asian backstroke swimmers to challenge me and push each other forward,” she added.

China also secured gold in the women’s 400m freestyle, with Li Bingjie successfully defending her Asian Games title in 4:02.71.

Li said she believed there was still scope for improvement and highlighted her ability to finish strongly.

“I think my potential lies in my ability to finish strong. When I raced against Katie Ledecky and other strong swimmers, I felt I could really tap into my potential when I had someone to chase down in the latter stage of the race,” she said.

Hong Kong, China’s Siobhan Haughey, who had won the 200m freestyle title, claimed her second gold of the Games in the women’s 100m freestyle with a time of 52.45 seconds.

China’s Yu Yiting won silver in 53.21 seconds, while teammate Cheng Yujie took bronze in 53.47.

Japan’s Kojima Yumeki claimed the only swimming gold for the hosts on Tuesday, winning the men’s 400m individual medley in a new Games record of 4:07.02. His compatriot Matsushita Tomoyuki finished second in 4:09.64, while China’s Wang Shun took bronze in 4:14.59.

For Wang, a five-time Asian Games participant, the bronze added another medal to his long career.

“Every Games have left me with many wonderful memories,” Wang said, adding that he hoped more young Chinese swimmers would compete on the world stage and achieve better results.

China ended the night with another gold in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, winning in 3:27.89 after holding off a late challenge from Japan.

Japan reduced the gap to just 0.29 seconds with 350 metres remaining, but China’s quartet of Xu Jiayu, Dong Zhihao, Xu Fang and Pan Zhanle held their nerve through the final turn to finish first. South Korea claimed bronze.

Asked about the pressure created by Japan’s late surge, backstroke veteran Xu Jiayu said he remained confident in his teammates.

“Although we have young swimmers on the team, we’ve been working together for four years. So we trust each other,” he said.

Looking ahead to Thursday’s next relay, 100m freestyle champion Pan Zhanle acknowledged that it would be “a big challenge”, with South Korea expected to provide strong competition.