Asian Games | Sun Yang unfurls another win after flag flap

Sun Yang celebrates after winning the men’s 800m freestyle final

Sun Yang won his second gold medal in as many nights at the Asian Games and this time he was rewarded with the raising of a red flag. It came much to the satisfaction of the three-time Olympic champion from China.

Sun set an Asian Games record to win the 800-meter freestyle in 7 minutes, 48.36 seconds yesterday, staying on course in his quest for gold medals in every freestyle event from the 200 to the 1,500-meters in Jakarta.

China’s greatest swimmer kicked it off with an emotional victory in the 200 — he took silvers in that event in the 2010 and 2014 editions — on Sunday night, when the hoist broke during the medal ceremony and the flags crashed to the floor.

Sun demanded that the ceremony start over but the glitch couldn’t be properly fixed and the Chinese flag had to be held up by an honor guard rather than hoisted toward the roof of the stadium.

There was no such problem on the second day of the swimming program after Sun had beaten Shogo Takeda of Japan by nearly five seconds.

The rivalry between China and Japan in the pool is intense, and the powerful Chinese team is leading the medal count.

Japan stayed close with Rikako Ikee picking up her second gold medal of the meet with victory in a games record 25.55 in the women’s 50 butterfly.

There were seven swimming finals scheduled on Day 2.

In the biggest upset of the day, seven-time kabaddi champion India was edged 24-23 by South Korea — its first ever loss in the sport at the Asian Games.

Local organizers have been dealing with ticket and transport confusion, the scandal over four Japanese basketball players sent home, and concerns over reports of excessive use of force by Indonesian police ahead of the games.

For Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, questions at a news conference about a catalog of concerns became an opportunity to present his positive spin.

Sheikh Ahmad praised the Indonesian government and local organizers for stepping in on short notice when Vietnam withdrew as host. It has spent three years getting facilities and logistics ready to cater for more than 11,000 athletes in 40 sports.

He said the opening ceremony on Saturday was the best ever held in the region and its success inspired a flood of interest in the games. And that, the Kuwaiti royal said, was why the ticket system became overwhelmed and why there were problems with shuttle buses.

Sheikh Ahmad addressed the issues raised by Amnesty International about reports of Indonesian police fatally shooting dozens of petty criminals in a deliberate campaign of “unnecessary and excessive” force ahead of the games by saying local authorities were best placed to manage security.

The games were secure, he said, motioning to reporters and saying, “We don’t want to lose any of you.”

Host Indonesia started the day well by earning gold medals in mountain biking with Khoiful Mukhib winning the men’s downhill and Tiara Andini Prastika winning the women’s downhill.

Japanese equestrian riders Akane Kuroki, Kazuki Sado, Masanao and Shunsuke Terui won the team dressage. And China continued to extend its lead in the medal standings with three of the four gold medals awarded on the second day of the shooting competition.

Yang Kun-pi of Taiwan equaled a world record to win the other shooting gold, scoring 48 points in the men’s trap.

In other notable results among 29 finals yesterday, weightlifter Ri Song Gum won North Korea’s first gold medal of the games with victory in the women’s 48-kilogram division. John Pye, Jakarta, AP