The Prague Post - Schoolgirl Yu scorches to second gold as doping case rocks Games

Yu's winning time of 2min 06.10sec in the 200m individual medley was only 0.40sec slower than the world record of Canadian Summer McIntosh and showed why the Chinese sensation could take the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics by storm.

"I feel even happier winning this second gold medal than I did with the first one," said the 13-year-old Yu, who won the 200m butterfly on Sunday and has smashed two Asian Games records in as many days.

There was drama in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre pool when Japan star Shin Ohashi dead-heated with China's Dong Zhihao to give them each a gold in the men's 100m breaststroke.

"I'm really happy to get a gold but it was a tie so it's a little frustrating," said Ohashi. "The feeling is 50-50."

Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey defended her title in the women's 200m freestyle.

Thailand's talented young women's badminton player Pitchamon Opatniputh became the first known doping case of the Nagoya-Aichi Games.

The 19-year-old returned a positive sample for the banned substance furosemide and has been provisionally suspended, the International Testing Agency said.

The teenager, who is ranked 18th in the world and regarded as a rising star back home, had been due to face China on Tuesday in the team event.

- Koreas draw -

The women's football group stage meeting between North and South Korea was hotly anticipated but turned into a niggly affair which ended 1-1 in Shizuoka.

Just over 2,000 fans were at the 50,000-capacity stadium which staged matches at the 2002 World Cup, with a group of North Korean fans wearing red t-shirts with some having the country's flag painted on their faces.

North Korea led through Chae Un Yong's first-half goal.

Yun Su-jeong's second-half strike ensured the spoils were shared and the players exchanged tepid high-fives at the end, but did not speak to each other.

The neighbours remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean war ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

The boxing began Monday at Aichi's Nishio Gymnasium with some shock results in the men's light-middleweight (70kg) as silver and bronze medallists from three years ago at the Hangzhou Games both lost in the last 32.

Kan Chia-wei of Taiwan, second in Hangzhou, was beaten on a 4-1 split decision by Palestine's Mohammed Issa.

"I am not satisfied with this result," said Kan. "I suffered a shoulder injury, so my next goal is to regain my fitness."

That came moments after Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov of Turkmenistan, third in 2023, lost by the same scoreline to Bahrain's Aly Abdalla.

"He doesn't have IQ, he just (puts) pressure, pressure, pressure," said Abdalla after outthinking his marauding opponent.

"That's why he was a little bit hard today because it's the toughest, such pressure, so there is no chance just to box."

- Palestine baseball 'win' -

Palestine, who have experienced war in Gaza since October 2023, made their debut in Asian Games baseball.

Though they lost 12-0 to the Philippines their team leader said that just being there "was a win".

"With everything that’s going on, what we are trying to do is bring hope to people who do not have a lot of it," said Oney Roberto Guillen Cardenas.

"Just by us being out there on the same stage as countries like Japan ... that's a win in itself."

Hasan Ammar, who registered his team's first hit, said: "This is probably the greatest honour of my life, playing for something so meaningful and on such a big stage.

"You know, two of our teammates were killed in Gaza, and we're playing for them, and we're playing for all the people over there."

I.Horak--TPP