Xing wins 5,000-meters at East Asian Games (AP) Updated: 2005-11-04 15:25
Wang Hailan won the heptathlon with 5,932 points and the Chinese women won
the 4x400 relay. Japan closed by winning the men's four-lap relay.
China finished with 26 gold on the track and had 92 across all sports after
the morning session of the seventh day.
At the same time, Japan had 24 gold _ including 15 from athletics _ and South
Korea had 23.
Taiwan's Wang Yeutzuoo beat Japan's Toshihide Matsui 6-1, 6-1 in the tennis
singles final to give his country its seventh gold medal, putting it within
reach of fourth-place Macau, which has nine.
Hong Kong collected its second gold medal of the games when shooter Wong Fai
won the 25-meter standard pistol final from North Korea's Kim Jong Su.
On the track, Athens Olympics 10,000-meter champion Xing finished the 5,000
in 16:04.56, with Japan's Hiromi Ominami placing second in 16:10.77 and South
Korea's Bae Hae-jin well back in third.
Xing, who dueled with Ominami most of the race, said the Japanese athletes
had put pressure on China by winning 10 of 13 athletics finals on Thursday.
"The athletes from Japan have done well here," said Xing, adding that China
brought a stronger team. "My condition wasn't the best and it was really hot out
there but I knew it was important to go out and get the gold medal."
Japan resurgence on the track Thursday was a brief challenge to China's
domination in Macau. And while the Japanese were performing on the track, South
Korea was sweeping the taekwondo medals and kept in touch of second place in the
standings.
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