Asian Games, Day One Finals: Yu Zidi, Tomoyuki Matsushita Open with Titles; Yumeki Kojima Sets World Junior Record
The first finals session of the Asian Games unfolded on Sunday night at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, a mix of rising talent and established stars headlining the evening. Finals were contested in the women’s 200-meter butterfly, men’s 200 individual medley, women’s 1500 freestyle, men’s 100 freestyle, women’s 50 breaststroke, men’s 100 backstroke and the women’s 400 freestyle relay.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Night One action:
Women’s 200 Butterfly
China’s Yu Zidi, the 13-year-old phenom who medaled at last year’s World Championships as a pre-teen, didn’t waste any time delivering the first impressive performance of the competition. Posting the fourth-fastest time in the world for 2026, Yu captured her first Asian Games title with a swim of 2:05.09. The effort was a Games record for the youngster, who prevailed by more than three seconds and still has the 200 individual medley and 400 IM ahead on her schedule.
China kicked off action by also earning the silver medal in the event, as Chang Mohan touched the wall in 2:08.44. She was followed in the bronze-medal position by Japan’s Misa Okuzono, who was timed in 2:09.67.
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
Already the champion this summer in the 200 IM at the Pan Pacific Championships, Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita added a gold medal in the event at the Asian Games, although this latest crown required a battle with a young countryman. Matsushita got to the wall in 1:55.30, a career-best performance and the No. 3 time in the world this year. Grabbing the silver medal was 17-year-old Yumeki Kojima, who went 1:55.36 for a world junior record.
Matsushita and Kojima engaged in a back-and-forth duel, as Matsushita held the lead following the opening butterfly leg, but narrowly trailed after the backstroke and breaststroke legs. Facing a .04 deficit heading into the closing freestyle, Matsushita edged ahead of Kojima down the stretch to prevail. The former WJR belonged to Russia’s Mikhail Shcherbakov, who went 1:56.16 at the European Championships.
The bronze medal went to 2020 Olympic champion Wang Shun of China, who recorded a time of 1:57.14.
More to come…
