Japan sweeps BMX racing golds as China takes silver, bronze

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan claimed both BMX racing gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, with Sae Hatakeyama winning the women's final and Asuma Nakai retaining his men's title.

China's Lin Haochao edged Indonesia's Fasya Ahsana Rifki by 0.033 seconds to secure men's bronze.

Racing took place in light rain at the Nagoya Velodrome BMX Race Course. Each category featured three preliminary runs, with the top four riders from each heat advancing to an eight-rider final decided over a single race.

Liao finished second in all three of her preliminary runs, while teammate Wang Mengyao won the first two runs in her heat. In the women's final, Hatakeyama crossed the line in 33.401 seconds, with Liao second in 34.500 and Indonesia's Jasmine Azzahra Setyobudi third in 34.932. Wang was relegated to eighth in the official results.

Competing at her first Asian Games, Liao said nerves had affected her since the previous evening and through the preliminaries. In the final, she concentrated on her start, acceleration and the sections ahead.

"I performed above my usual level today," she said, also praising Wang for assisting her through the turns.

The Chinese team had trained in Linyi, Shandong Province, for more than a month but had only three one-hour sessions on the Nagoya course. The rain added another challenge, as Liao had never raced in wet conditions before.

"I'm quite satisfied," Liao said of her silver medal, adding that she hoped the team could build on this performance at next year's Asian championships.

In the men's final, Nakai, the Hangzhou 2022 champion, finished in 30.103 seconds. Fellow Japanese rider Hyoga Kiuchi took silver in 30.583. Lin crossed the line in 32.947, just ahead of Indonesia's Fasya Ahsana Rifki in 32.980. China's Chen Yucheng placed fifth in 33.466.

"I just wanted to give everything and sprint for the line," said Lin, who finished fourth at the previous Asian Games.

Peng Haibo, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Cycling Association, said the team was satisfied with its performance. China had set out to challenge for women's gold and reach the men's final, and came away with medals in both events.

Peng described the Games as an opportunity to test the team's preparation in a major competition and said riders and coaches would apply the lessons learned as they continue training with an eye on Olympic qualification and the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

BMX racing made its Olympic debut at Beijing 2008 and was introduced to the Asian Games program at Guangzhou 2010.