China reaches 100th all-time Asian Games diving gold medal milestone

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 30, the Chinese delegation reached a historic milestone by capturing its 100th all-time gold medal in diving since first competing at the event in 1974. Lian Junjie secured the landmark victory by winning the men’s 10-meter platform final, anchoring a day where China extended its overall medal lead to 151 golds, 67 silvers, and 59 bronzes.

Diving Sweep Crowns Century Mark

The milestone arrived during the final day of diving competition at the regional games. Chen Yiwen successfully defended her title to win the women’s 3-meter springboard final, before Lian clinched the men’s 10-meter platform crown to officially push China’s historical Asian Games diving gold medal count to 100. Across the ongoing Games, the Chinese team claimed all 10 available diving gold medals, marking the 14th time the nation has swept the sport’s podiums.

Semifinal Defeat Ends Men’s Football Run

While aquatic disciplines delivered historic triumphs, the men’s football team saw its championship aspirations end in the semifinals. China suffered a 2-1 defeat after being mounted by defending champion South Korea. Despite missing out on the gold-medal match, the squad achieved its best result since the tournament shifted to an under-23 format at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, securing a top-four finish for the first time in 28 years. The team advances to face Uzbekistan in the bronze-medal match.

China Sweeps Gold in Cycling and Canoe Slalom

China maintained strict dominance across track cycling and canoe slalom events on Sept. 30. The cycling squad swept all three gold medals contested that day, highlighted by record-setting performances in both the men’s and women’s team pursuit finals where the teams broke existing Asian records. Yuan Liying added a second gold medal of her campaign by winning the women’s keirin final. In canoe slalom, Huang Juan successfully defended her women’s single canoe title to secure a fourth Asian Games crown for China in the event, while Hu Zhaoshan captured the men’s single kayak gold to earn the nation its third straight title in that discipline.

Esports and Combat Sports Medals

In the esports arena, China defeated Japan in the Identity V Asian Games version final to take the gold medal. The victory featured a historic milestone as team member Mu Xinyue became the first female athlete to win a gold medal since esports was officially introduced as a medal event at the Asian Games. Meanwhile, combat sports yielded multiple podium finishes on their opening day. In judo, Ma Yulin captured bronze in the men’s 60kg division, Xu Aoyu placed third in the women’s 52kg category, and Xue Ziyang took bronze in the men’s 66kg event. Wrestling competition added bronze medals from Meng Lingzhe in the men’s Greco-Roman 130kg division and Long Jia in the women’s freestyle 68kg category. In sport climbing, Deng Lijuan missed the women’s speed gold by a margin of 0.002 seconds to settle for the silver medal.

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