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.
Women’s 1500 Freestyle
Veteran distance star Li Bingjie defended her title in the 1500 freestyle, as she was the lone athlete to break the 16-minute mark. Li, the gold medalist in the event in 2023 and silver medalist in 2018, covered her 30 laps in 15:53.52, which was nearly seven seconds clear of Singapore’s Gan Ching Wee, who took the silver medal in 16:00.45. The bronze medal went to Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto in 16:06.83.
Li has put together a sterling career and her gold medal on Sunday night marked her eighth victory in Asian Games competition. Overall, Li is a 12-time medalist at the continental showcase.
Men’s 100 Freestyle
It wasn’t easy, but reigning Olympic champion Pan Zhanle of China secured victory in the 100 freestyle, accomplishing the feat in come-from-behind fashion. Pan led three swimmers under the 48-second barrier and walked away with the title in 47.61, just .04 quicker than the 47.65 of South Korea’s Kim Youngbeom. Hwang Sunwoo gave Korea a pair of podium positions, as he touched in 47.79 for the bronze medal.
Pan, the world-record holder at 46.40, stared at a .11 deficit at the turn, his 22.92 trailing the 22.81 of Kim. Down the last length, the Olympic champ was able to inch ahead of Kim to defend his title from Hangzhou three years ago. Fourth place went to China’s Zhang Zhanshuo in 48.23, a promising performance given Zhang’s better events are to come in the 200 and 400 freestyles.
Women’s 50 Breaststroke
After setting a Games record of 29.50 in the prelims, China’s Tang Qianting took the mark even lower in the final and just missed breaking her own Asian record. Tang raced away from the field in comfortable fashion, clocking 29.45 to finish a hundredth off her continental record. Still, the effort provided a dominant triumph, as the silver medal went to Japan’s Satomi Suzuki in 29.91, with China’s Yang Chang the bronze medalist in 30.24.
Suzuki’s appearance on the podium continued her late-career excellence. A medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the 35-year-old produced a career-best time in the final of the 50 breaststroke.
Men’s 100 Backstroke
A multi-time world champion in the 100 backstroke, 31-year-old Xu Jiayu proved that he remains a major factor in his prime event. Xu blasted the field in the 100 back, breaking the 52-second barrier with a time of 51.98. That effort was nearly two seconds faster than the 53.93 of Japan’s Takehara Hidekazu, who picked up the silver medal. Bronze was claimed by Korea’s Lee Juho in 53.94.
Xu was not far off his Asian record of 51.86, which he established in 2017, almost a decade ago. His winning time was also good for second in the world in 2026.
Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay
China wrapped up the first night of finals with an easy victory in the 400 freestyle relay, as the squad of Yu Yiting (53.39), Zhang Yufei (52.99), Cheng Yujie (53.79) and Wu Qingfeng (52.93) combined for a mark of 3:33.10. That time was three-plus seconds faster than Hong Kong, which took the silver medal in 3:36.59, its second leg a 52.22 from Siobhan Haughey. Bronze was grabbed by Japan in 3:39.09.
