China eye Asiad badminton gold; India- Pakistan face-off in f.hockey

The Asian Games athletics program fires up with the men's 100m heats as Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei face-off for gold in a clash of the world's top two badminton stars.Day 9 of the biggest multi-sports event after the Olympics will also witness women's rugby and boxing for the first time, while China's men make their international cricket debut against Malaysia.The hosts got the first gold of the day with Wang Hao winning the men's 20 kilometre walk ahead of teammate Chu Yafei and South Korea's Kim Hyun-Sub.

South Korean star Park Tae-Hwan blitzed the field to collect his third gold medal in the Asian Games pool on Wednesday as a conspiracy row rumbled at the taekwondo.Despite Park's fireworks, China again dominated Day 5 to extend their lead at the top of the medals table to 97 gold, ahead of South Korea on 29 and Japan on 17, with North Korea and Iran next best on five.But it was the 21-year-old Park's night, sprinting to victory in the 100 metres freestyle after taking gold in the 200m and 400m events.

Defending men's badminton champion Taufik Hidayat crashed out of the Asian Games Friday as China's formidable gold medal tally soared even higher.On Day 7 of the world's biggest multi-sports event after the Olympics, the hosts built their title success to 112 ahead of South Korea on 37 and Japan on 22.With more than a week still to go, they are poised to smash through their all-time Asiad record of 183 golds achieved at the 1990 Games in Beijing.

Park Tae-Hwan guns for his third gold medal in the Asian Games pool as double Olympic champion weightlifter Liu Chunhong attempts to smash her own world record.Going into Day 5, China on Wednesday extended their lead at the top of the medals table and now have 79 gold to South Korea's 22 and Japan's 15, with North Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong all next best on three.The hosts tasted more success on the cycling track with Zhang Lei clinching the men's sprint title and Guo Shuang taking the women's gold.

Hosts Kazakhstan secured top place in the Asian Winter Games medal table after they won five more gold medals on Saturday's penultimate day. With only 11 gold medals still at stake, Kazakhstan top the table with 28 gold medals and 62 overall, while second-placed South Korea have 12 golds and 35 overall.Masako Hozumi of Japan increased her team's gold medal tally with a confident win in the women's 5,000m speed skating.The 24-year-old finished 6.4 seconds ahead of second-placed Park Doyoung of South Korea. Another Japanase skater, Eriko Ishino, was third.

South Korea and Pakistan were handed wildcard entries for field hockey's Champions Trophy in India next year that will feature eight teams instead of six.The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday said the two Asian nations will join world champions Australia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and hosts India in the annual tournament.South Korea are ranked sixth in the world, while Pakistan were rewarded for winning the Asian Games gold medal in Guangzhou, China last month, which earned them a direct entry to the 2012 London Olympics.

Hosts' Kazakhstan dominated the day's action at the Asian Winter Games on Thursday adding four gold medals to their impressive collection to stay on top with 17 golds and 46 medals overall.South Korea failed to add to their gold haul, but remain in second place with 10 gold and 24 medals overall.Meanwhile, Japan stayed in the race for the lead in the medal table with their skiers winning two gold medals to lift their country into third position with eight golds.

A powerful China on Thursday snapped up seven of the 10 track and field gold medals on offer in the first athletics action at the East Asian Games in Hong Kong.A sell-out 3,500 crowd saw China comfortably stretch their lead over Japan and South Korea at the top of the medals table, and yet more success later in the swimming saw the Chinese gold medal haul swell past the 50 mark.The Japanese took two golds and South Korea the other at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, with Taiwan playing a supporting role, as the Games entered their ninth day of competition.