NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- China swept all three gold medals on offer in track cycling at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, winning the women's, men's team pursuits and women's keirin, with Asian records set in both team pursuit events.
In the women's team pursuit final, China quickly established a lead and extended its advantage to more than two seconds midway through the race. The Chinese quartet crossed the finish line in 4:08.818 to win gold in an Asian record time.
Host Japan took silver in 4:10.424, while South Korea claimed bronze after catching Uzbekistan in the bronze medal race.
"We were very united and rode steadily. Everyone gave their all and pushed beyond their limits, delivering our best performance," said Chinese rider Chen Ning.
Teammate Wang Xiaoyue said the team had set a clear goal of breaking the record and winning gold before the race.
"Now that we have achieved our goal, it not only validates the results of our training but also gives us confidence and motivation for the competitions ahead," Wang said.
The men's team pursuit final also saw a showdown between China and defending champion Japan. China clocked 3:47.621 to break the Asian record and beat Japan to the gold medal.
South Korea came from behind to beat Kazakhstan in the bronze medal race.
"We had originally planned to go for first place in the qualifying round, but a mistake left us slightly behind Japan and we failed to meet our expectations," said Pei Zhengyu, who is making his Asian Games debut.
"But we adjusted our mindset in time and successfully broke the Games record in the first round, steadily improving our times. By crossing the finish line first in today's final, we also achieved our goal of breaking the Asian record," Pei said.
In the women's keirin final, Yuan Liying produced a powerful late surge to overtake her rivals and claim gold. Her Chinese teammate Wang Lijuan took silver, while Malaysia's Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri won bronze.
"This gold medal is an affirmation of my individual ability," Yuan said. "The keirin is a rapidly changing event, and there is no fixed tactic. All I can do is give my best, maintain my rhythm and respond positively to every change in the race."
"I feel very honored to stand on the podium alongside my teammate," she added.
The women's Madison, men's omnium and men's sprint finals will take place on Thursday. ■
