Settled
China passes 165-gold mark with 166th title at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games
In short
China won its 166th gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Oct 3, passing the 165 golds it took at Doha 20 years earlier, China News Service reported. The men's football team won bronze in a penalty shootout the same day, and the swimming team finished with 30 golds. China first competed at the Asian Games in 1974 and has topped the gold table since 1982.
Why it matters
The tally is described as a record for China at an Asian Games held outside the country, and the reports place it around the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. The documents give no closing medal standings, so the delegation's final total is not yet known.
Key facts
- China's 166th gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came on the afternoon of Oct 3 in the men's golf team event, surpassing the 165 golds won at Doha 20 years earlier, according to China News Service. [ 2 ]
- The men's football team won bronze on Oct 3 in a penalty shootout, China's first Asian Games men's football bronze in 28 years. [ 2 ]
- The swimming team finished with 30 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze, its best performance at a single Asian Games. [ 2 ]
- Zhang Zhanshuo, 19, took seven golds, the most by a Chinese athlete at one Asian Games and a match of the Games record for individual golds at a single edition. [ 2 ]
- The athletics team took 17 gold, 14 silver and 8 bronze to top both tables. [ 2 ]
- Lian Junjie's win in the men's 10m platform was China's 100th Asian Games diving gold. [ 2 ]
- Both Xinhua and China News Service carried the headline “Asian Games glory, a salute to the great motherland”. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- China's delegation won its 166th gold of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on the afternoon of Oct 3, surpassing the 165 golds won at Doha 20 years earlier. [ 2 ]
- The Games opened on Sept 19. [ 2 ]
- The men's football team won bronze on Oct 3 in a penalty shootout, its first Asian Games men's football bronze in 28 years. [ 2 ]
- Zhang Zhanshuo, 19, won seven golds, the most by a Chinese athlete at a single Asian Games and equal to the Games record for individual golds at one edition. [ 2 ]
- China's athletics team took 17 gold, 14 silver and 8 bronze and topped both tables. [ 2 ]
- Lian Junjie's men's 10m platform win gave China its 100th Asian Games diving gold, and the team has never missed a diving gold since first competing in 1974. [ 2 ]
- Both outlets ran the same headline saluting the “great motherland”. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- China's final gold and medal totals at the close of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The only article text available is truncated mid-sentence, and neither document gives a closing tally.
- Whether Xinhua reported the same details as China News Service. Xinhua's document contains only a headline and no article text.
- Whether the 166-gold mark is officially recognised as a record by the Games organisers. The claim comes from China News Service alone; no statement from the organising committee appears in the documents.
What local media are saying
Official sourcesBoth official outlets carried the same headline saluting the “great motherland”. China News Service, the only one with article text, mixed the delegation's results and records with athletes' quotes and patriotic framing tied to the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic; Xinhua's item was available only as a headline.
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