A rewarding day for the Malaysian contingent at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Sept 23 — In a remarkable feat, 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi clinched a hat-trick of Asian Games titles on Wednesday, while North Korea claimed their first gold medal through a weightlifting sensation. As the fourth day of competition concluded in Aichi-Nagoya, China led the medal standings with a substantial 47 gold medals. Japan and South Korea followed in second and third places, respectively, with 15 and eight gold medals each.

Yu Zidi, a schoolgirl whose name means 'power,' showcased her extraordinary talent in the pool. She dominated the women's 400-meter individual medley, setting a new Games record of 4 minutes and 28.56 seconds. This victory added to her clean sweep from three individual events, including the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley, both also set in record times. Yu, who will turn 14 next month, demonstrated China's unparalleled dominance in swimming, securing 21 out of the 28 golds awarded that week.

In weightlifting, North Korea's Ri Song Gum delivered an exceptional performance, winning her country's first gold of the Games. Standing at just 140cm (4 feet 7 inches), the 28-year-old Ri shattered three world records in the women's 49kg class. She lifted 94kg in the first snatch discipline, surpassing the previous world standard by a kilogram.

Ri then dominated the clean and jerk, clearing 116kg and 121kg, both breaking the existing world records. Her total of 215kg also surpassed the world mark by 7kg. Ri expressed her pride in representing her home country, acknowledging the high expectations of the people and her desire to lift her nation on these "small shoulders."