Asian teams are actively preparing for the Hangzhou Asian Games, with a countdown of 100 days. Hangzhou | Asian Games | Asia

On June 15th, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou saw a 100 day countdown to its opening. In addition to the Asian sports champion and the Chinese sports delegation, who will play at home, several other delegations are also actively preparing for the final sprint to achieve good results by the West Lake.

As the strongest competitor of the Chinese delegation in Asia, several teams from the Japanese delegation have announced their preliminary list early on. In April this year, the Japan Swimming Association announced that it would send 38 athletes to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games based on the results of the Japan Swimming Championships and other events. The most well-known one among them is Chijiang Lihuazi, who will compete in the freestyle event. Judo is a traditional Japanese sport, and the Japanese team won 9 out of 15 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. At the end of May, the All Japan Judo Federation announced the list of 17 athletes for the Asian Games, including Tokyo Olympic men's 100kg champion Wolf.

On August 24, 2018, Japanese athlete Riko Ike competed in the women's 50m freestyle final at the 18th Asian Games. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua

In addition, the preliminary list of Japanese delegations participating in the Asian Games in Go, wrestling, triathlon, wicker ball, and esports has also been announced. It is worth mentioning that since the next Asian Games will be held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, the capital of Japan, the Japan Electronic Sports Federation and Aichi Electronic Sports Federation jointly held a competition called "Asian Games Road Festival" in Nagoya.

As another sports powerhouse in Asia, the selection of the South Korean delegation's lineup is also being carried out intensively. Due to the one-year postponement of the Asian Games, the South Korean delegation's participation lineup for only a few events remains unchanged, and the participation lists for multiple events will be adjusted according to the latest situation.

Shen Yubin, who just won a silver medal in women's doubles at the Durban World Table Tennis Championships, has high hopes. She stated in an interview that her confrontation with Chinese athletes at the World Championships made her realize her shortcomings. Compared to ranking, she believes that improving her own strength is more important and hopes to achieve good results at the upcoming Asian Games through further polishing.

On May 27th, Tian Zhixi/Shen Yubin competed in the women's doubles final of the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen

The host of the previous Asian Games, Indonesia, won its first gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games through the Taekwondo event, and the Indonesian Taekwondo team naturally hopes to continue this achievement in Hangzhou. Team coach Ong Stefanus told Xinhua News Agency that after the last Asian Games, this sport has developed rapidly in Indonesia, and the competitive level of athletes has continuously improved. Currently, the team's focus has been on the Hangzhou Asian Games. For athletes, the current key is to meet the competition requirements in terms of physical fitness while maintaining a positive mindset.

"At the Hangzhou Asian Games, we must win medals and challenge for gold medals," said Weng Stefanus.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the Hong Kong delegation won its first Olympic gold medal since Hong Kong's return, as well as 2 silver and 3 bronze medals. The head of the Hong Kong delegation, Huo Qigang, stated that the delegation will send its largest team since participating in the Asian Games. In this Asian Games, the Hong Kong team of China has strong gold medal strength in swimming, fencing and other events. Wu Zheng of each team plans training and competitions reasonably, striving to adjust the athlete's condition to the best before the Asian Games.

The head coach of the Hong Kong swimming team, Chen Jianhong, stated that before the Asian Games, the team also had events such as the World Championships, World University Games, and World Youth Championships. The intensive schedule required the entire coaching staff to scientifically coordinate.

"Each coach has a different division of labor, which requires them to develop a competition plan based on the actual situation of each athlete. For example, we stipulate that only one athlete can choose between the World Championships and the University Games, and the same athlete cannot participate in both competitions, otherwise it will have a significant impact on the preparation for the Asian Games. We attach great importance to each competition, and of course, the most important thing is the Asian Games. I hope that coaches in each group can arrange their training well, arrange the exercise cycle well, and keep the best state of the athletes for the Asian Games." Chen Jianhong said.

On July 26, 2021, Chinese Hong Kong athlete Zhang Jialang and Italian athlete Garozo competed in the men's individual foil final at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Hongxiang

The Chinese delegation from Macau achieved 1 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the Jakarta Asian Games, with martial arts, karate, and other events being their specialties. Pan Yongquan, Director of the Sports Bureau of the Macau SAR Government, stated in an interview that Macau will send over 180 athletes to compete in 21 events, and some teams have gone to the mainland and overseas to actively prepare, hoping to achieve good results.

"During this period of intense training, athletes are believed to be able to showcase their abilities. We are full of confidence in the Hangzhou Asian Games. We hope that some athletes can compete for medals and some young athletes can gain more competition experience," said Pan Yongquan.

The Philippines will send about 400 athletes to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games, led by Tokyo Olympic women's weightlifting champion Edith Diaz and men's pole vault Asian record holder Cai Huaqiang, striving to break through the previous Asian Games record of 4 gold medals.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Torrentino said that the Philippine team will compete for medals in weightlifting, boxing, pole vault, gymnastics and other events. Cai Huaqiang stated that he looks forward to a brilliant performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games and is preparing for next year's Paris Olympics.

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