JAKARTA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese athletes launched a stunning gold rush at field and track of the Asian Games here on Tuesday, bringing home four out of seven athletics golds of the day.
In the opening event of day, defending champion Xie Wenjun refreshed his season best in men's 110m hurdles final to clinch the gold medal, despite a slow start.
Xie, 28, clocked 13.34 seconds to finish the race. Chen Kueiru from Chinese Taipei renewed his personal best to claim the silver with a time of 13.39s, while Japanese Shunya Takayama settled for bronze at 13.48s.
"I'm two seconds faster this time (than that in Incheon Games). I'm very proud. Another gold medal at this age. It's not easy," he said.
Xie took Liu Xiang as his all-time hero. The retired Chinese star hurdler won the first gold in a men's track and field event for China in men's 110m hurdles at the 2004 Olympic Games. Liu also set the Asian record in this event at 12.88s in 2006, which has been unchanged since then.
"He made history. He is such a nice big brother and mentor. He gave me a lot of suggestions and encouragement. That's one of the reasons I can carry on," said Xie.
"I will focus on strength training, trying to improve my finish speed. I have confidence I can keep my momentum into my 30s," he added.
Chinese females also shined over the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium -- Liu Shiying and her teammate Lyu Huihui, who set Asian record of 67.69 meters in May, wrapped up gold and silver from javelin throw final and the Iron Lady Wang Chunyu clinched the title of 800m final. Li Ling showed absolute dominance in pole vault, winning gold with her first and only jump to clear 4.60 meters, renewing the Games record and her season best.
Liu clinched the gold in her first attempt to reach 66.09 meters, a new Asian Games record, her teammate and arch rival Lyu took silver, while Gim Gyong-ae from South Korea pocketed bronze.
"I was not in my best form before the Games, but thanks to my coach's patience and persistence, he helped to polish my skills and gave me a lot of confidence, so that I can win over Huihui. It's like a dream," said Liu.
Bahrain harvested two golds from women's 5000m final and mixed 4x400m relay final, and Indians Manjit Singh and Jinson Johnson took gold and silver from men's 800m final. Enditem
