China’s 13-year-old swimming sensation Yu Zidi added another Asian Games gold to her growing collection on Wednesday.
The young swimmer won the women’s 400m individual medley in a Games-record time of 4min 28.56sec. Meanwhile, North Korean weightlifters delivered two powerful performances to secure their country’s first gold medals of the Games.
China remained comfortably ahead of the medal standings after the fourth full day of competition in Aichi-Nagoya. The country had collected 47 gold medals, while Japan stood second with 15 and South Korea followed with eight.
Yu Zidi Completes Asian Games Gold Hat-Trick
Yu Zidi has quickly become one of the standout faces of the 2026 Asian Games.
The 13-year-old dominated the women’s 400m individual medley and set another Games record. She had already won gold in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley.
Both of those victories also came with Games-record performances. As a result, Yu completed a clean sweep of her three individual events.
The teenager, who turns 14 next month, has now delivered three impressive performances in the pool. Her results have also highlighted China’s strong showing in swimming during the Games.
China has won 21 of the 28 swimming gold medals awarded so far. However, Yu believes there is still room for improvement despite her remarkable run.
“I gained a lot from these Asian Games but there were also some regrets,” she said after the race.
When a reporter suggested that she had made the victory look easy, the teenager responded with a simple answer.
“Definitely not,” she replied.
North Korean Weightlifters Secure Two Golds
North Korea opened its gold-medal account through weightlifter Ri Song Gum in the women’s 49kg class.
Ri produced a record-breaking performance by setting three world records. She lifted 94kg in the opening snatch, surpassing the previous world mark of 93kg.
She then broke the clean and jerk record twice. Ri first lifted 116kg before raising the mark again with a 121kg lift.
Her combined total reached 215kg, beating the previous world record by seven kilograms.
The 28-year-old, who stands 140cm tall, also joined an elite group of four weightlifters with three Asian Games gold medals.
Ri became emotional as her country’s national anthem played during the medal ceremony. Large numbers of Japanese North Korean fans waved flags and celebrated her achievement.
“The reason I got this gold is for the feelings of my home country, the people had huge expectations for me,” Ri told reporters.
“I wanted to lift my country up on these two small shoulders.”
Kang Hyon Gyong then completed a golden double for North Korea by winning the women’s 53kg category.
China Sweeps Race Walk Golds
Athletics also produced two Chinese victories as the men’s and women’s half-marathon race walks began.
China’s Shi Shengji won the men’s event, while compatriot Yang Liujing claimed gold in the women’s competition.
Yang linked her performance to her name and the determination she showed during the race.
“My name means ‘power’, so here I walked with power,” said Yang.
China’s success in both events prompted another confident response from Yang.
“I think it’s normal for us to sweep the (gold) medals.”
South Korea Falls in Badminton Semi-Final
In badminton, world number one An Se-young won her individual match during the women’s team event.
However, South Korea lost 3-1 to Japan in the semi-finals. An entered the tournament as the reigning world and Olympic champion.
She also found time to joke about her father watching from the crowd.
“Parents usually cannot bear to watch their own children compete, but my dad seems to watch perfectly happily, which is a bit much,” she said.
“I am out there running myself into the ground and he is just cheering away in comfort.”
China Wins Gymnastics Team Gold
China added another gold medal in men’s team gymnastics.
The Chinese team finished ahead of Japan in the competition. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto expressed disappointment with his team’s second-place finish.
“Second place. The most honest feeling is that it is very frustrating,” said Hashimoto.
As the Games continue, China’s medal tally remains well ahead of its nearest competitors. Meanwhile, Yu Zidi’s three swimming titles and North Korea’s weightlifting records have become major highlights of the competition.
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