TOKYO, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Teenage swimmers Yu Zidi and Zhang Zhanshuo led China's charge at the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, with Yu completing a hat-trick of individual titles and Zhang claiming his fourth gold as China won six swimming events.
Yu, 13, completed a sweep of her three individual events by winning the women's 400-meter individual medley in 4 minutes, 28.56 seconds, setting an Asian Games record. She led from the opening leg and finished 3.95 seconds ahead of teammate Ke Wenxi.
Yu had already won the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley, setting an Asian record of 2:06.10 in the latter. Despite her success, the teenager admitted that her demanding schedule had taken its toll.
"There wasn't really a feeling that it was easy. I'm quite tired," Yu said.
"I was just a little short of the Asian record today, but I also improved my time, so I think that's okay," she added.
Zhang, 19, claimed his fourth gold of the Games by winning the men's 200-meter freestyle in an Asian record of 1:43.49. South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo took silver in 1:44.62, while Japan's Tatsuya Murasa finished third in 1:44.81.
Zhang had previously won the 1,500-meter freestyle and helped China secure gold in the 4x200-meter free and 4x100-meter medley relays. He anchored the former in 1:42.92 as China set an Asian record of 7:00.17.
"It was quite unexpected. Before the race, I didn't think I could swim such a time," Zhang said. "Form is built up race by race, and it will keep getting better and better."
Elsewhere, China's Yu Yiting edged teammate and defending champion Zhang Yufei by just 0.03 seconds to win the women's 100-meter butterfly in 56.41 seconds.
Neither swimmer was entirely satisfied with her performance, with Yu acknowledging that the narrow victory highlighted the importance of finishing strongly.
"Sometimes it comes down to the final 15 meters. For both of us, it was valuable experience," she said.
China's Peng Xuwei won the women's 100-meter backstroke in 59.30s, ahead of Japan's Rio Shirai in 59.89 and South Korea's Kim Seungwon in 1:00.10.
Peng said she had struggled with her pacing despite securing gold and described the Games as an important test ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"The Asian Games is like a 'midterm exam' for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It's an opportunity to test and show the results of my training," she said.
Tang Qianting added another gold for China in the women's 100-meter breaststroke, setting a Games record of 1:04.98.
In the men's 100-meter butterfly, China's Xu Fang took silver behind Japan's Shoon Mitsunaga, who set a Games record of 50.56 seconds.
China rounded off the evening by successfully defending its mixed 4x100-meter medley relay title, completing its six-gold haul.
For Zhang Yufei, the relay victory provided a positive end to a frustrating evening after her narrow defeat in the individual butterfly event.
Competing alongside longtime teammate Xu Jiayu in a reshuffled relay lineup, Zhang said his continued improvement had given her renewed confidence in her own prospects.
"Seeing him come back from the bottom makes me feel that I can do it too," she said.
"Even though I made some mistakes this time and didn't swim the result I wanted, I still believe in my training and look forward to finding what I can do in the next race." Enditem
