China proved they have arrived as a genuine Olympic superpower and both Koreas impressed — but Japan were top of the flops among Asian countries at the London Games.
China may not have repeated their feats of Beijing 2008, when they topped the medals table for the first time, but with 38 gold medals their presence in the top two, behind the US, was never in doubt.
South Korea were the only other Asian team in the top 10. North Korea, finishing 20th, had their best Games in 20 years, Hong Kong celebrated cycling bronze and Singapore won their first individual medal in 52 years.
India could not follow Beijing by claiming their second individual gold, but they finished with two silver medals and four bronze — their highest individual total.
Much as expected, China’s divers and badminton and table tennis players missed just two gold medals between them, and their weightlifters hoisted five titles at London’s Excel Centre.
However, China’s shooters were off-target compared with Beijing, winning only two golds, and their gymnasts dropped from seven victories in 2008 to three on the London apparatus.
China’s track hopes went up in smoke when 110m hurdler Liu Xiang, the 2004 champion, heart-breakingly limped out of the heats for the second Games running with a career-threatening Achilles tendon tear.
However, his brave hop down the track to the finish line, symbolic kiss of the last hurdle and embrace by his waiting competitors was one of the Games’ most memorable images.
Meanwhile Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, 16, led China to their best performance in the pool, claiming two wins and a world record each as the team broke through with five titles in one of the Olympics’ top-tier events.
Sun became China’s first male Olympic swimming champion in the 400m freestyle and then broke the 1,500m world record for the second time in a year.
Ye set a new mark in the women’s 400m medley and also won the 200m medley, while Jiao Liuyang won the women’s 200m butterfly. Unproven doping speculation surrounding Ye was angrily dismissed by Sun.
“People think China has so many gold medals because of doping and other substances, but I can tell you it is because of hard work,” Sun said.
“It is all down to training and hard work that we have results. Chinese are not weaker than those in other countries,” he added.
China, South Korea and Indonesia were also embroiled in one of the Games’ worst scandals, when eight badminton players were disqualified for trying to lose group ties to secure easier quarter-finals.
South Korea’s peerless archers, included the legally blind Im Dong-hyun, hit the bull’s-eye with three out of four gold medals and their shooters added three more at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
They had two more in judo and two in fencing — but none for Shin A-lam, whose tearful, hour-long protest over her loss in the women’s epee semis won sympathy and media coverage, but no Olympic medal.
North Korea’s Games made an unpromising start when their women’s soccer players were pictured next to the South Korean flag on a stadium big screen, prompting a lengthy protest.
But tiny, 1.52m weightlifter Om Yun-chol put them on the gold trail when he lifted three times his bodyweight to win the under-56kg category with a world record-equaling 293kg.
Kim Un-guk and Rim Jong-sim also lifted their way to gold at the Excel Centre, while An Kum-ae got judo gold on the opening weekend as North Korea matched their best-ever haul of four titles at Barcelona in 1992.
Japan, who are bidding to host the Games in 2020, had high hopes of emulating their record total of 16 gold medals. After a near-wipeout in the judo, they ended with just seven.
South Korea rubbed salt into the wound when they beat Japan, their fiercest rivals, 2-0 for men’s soccer bronze.
South Korea’s Park Jong-woo celebrated by waving a politically sensitive banner laying claim to an island group claimed by both countries. He was later barred from collecting his medal.
Sarah Lee Wai-sze pedalled to Hong Kong’s first cycling medal — bronze in the keirin — and China-born Feng Tianwei ended Singapore’s half-century wait for an individual medal with bronze in the women’s table tennis.
Malaysia got their first diving medal after Pandelela Rinong’s bronze in the 10m platform and there was a wave of sympathy for badminton star Lee Chong Wei, who fell just short of claiming the country’s first gold.
Indonesia won two weightlifting medals, but nothing in badminton for the first time in 20 years, while Thailand had medals in boxing, taekwondo and weightlifting.
Taiwan’s Hsu Shu-ching won silver in women’s under-53kg weightlifting, while Tseng Li-cheng won a bronze medal in women’s under-57kg taekwondo.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping