NAGOYA, September 23 — The story begins with a time that had never been seen from a Thai sprinter, and ends with a place in the record books that had stood untouched for nearly half a century. Puripol Boonson clocked 9.90 to win the men’s 100m at the Asian Games athletics programme in Nagoya, becoming Thailand’s first champion in the event for 48 years. The run moved him to second on the Asian all-time list, behind only Su Bingtian.
What unfolded across the rounds was a sprinter building toward something rare. Boonson opened with a season’s best of 9.95 in the heats, then broke Su’s Games record with 9.91 in the semifinals.
In the final he went faster still, stopping the clock at 9.90. The victory carries a lineage. Anat Ratanapol won in 1974 and Suchart Jairsuraparp in 1978 — the last Thai men to take the title before Boonson.
Oman’s Ali Al Balushi took silver in 10.04, with his brother Mazen Al Balushi earning bronze in 10.11.
A record-breaking night on the track
China’s Chen Yujie, the Asian U20 record-holder, improved her continental age-group mark to 11.06 to take gold in the women’s 100m, also breaking the Games record. The only Chinese woman to have run faster is Li Xuemei, who clocked a wind-assisted 11.05 to win the Asian Games title in 1998. Singapore’s Shanti Pereira repeated her silver-medal finish from 2023, clocking 11.21, while Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, a double Asian Games champion in 2018, took bronze in 11.33.
Bahrain also broke the Games record in the mixed 4x400m relay, with Isah Musa, Aisha Abdullah, Alaa Sami and Salwa Eid Naser combining to clock 3:12.87. Naser anchored the quartet with a 48.9 split.
It was the third successive Asian Games at which Bahrain had crossed the line first in the event, although their 2018 title was later forfeited following a doping violation.
Distance golds and field victories
Olympic steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi added another gold for Bahrain in the women’s 10,000m, moving to the front with three laps remaining and winning in 32:39.18. Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka finished two seconds behind to take silver, with India’s Seema Kumari securing bronze. Reigning Asian champion Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan was also among the leading group at various stages.
In the men’s 10,000m, Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew successfully defended his title, making his decisive move on the final lap to win in 28:27.51. India’s two-time Asian champion Gulveer Singh took silver in 28:29.38 and Bahrain’s Albert Kiptoo bronze in 28:34.38.
Uzbekistan won both the women’s triple jump and men’s hammer. Sharifa Davronova successfully defended her triple jump title, overtaking China’s Huang Yingying with a fifth-round leap of 14.31m before improving to 14.35m with her final attempt. Sukhrob Khodjaev upgraded the bronze medals he won at the previous two editions of the Games to gold in the hammer with a second-round throw of 74.38m.
Japan’s Shota Fukuda took hammer silver to end the host nation’s 16-year wait for a medal in the event. Shigenobu and Koji Murofushi, who between them won seven of Japan’s 11 Asian Games gold medals in the men’s hammer, had jointly lit the Games flame at the opening ceremony in Nagoya.
China claimed the top two places in the women’s shot put, Song Jiayuan winning with 19.40m ahead of Zhang Linru’s 18.14m, while Manpreet Kaur took bronze for India with 17.17m. Japan’s Misaki Morota delighted the home crowd with a personal best of 4.55m to win the women’s pole vault. China’s Asian record-holder Niu Chunge cleared 4.50m for silver, while India’s Baranica Elangovan and Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova shared bronze.
Japan also secured a one-two in the heptathlon through Yuri Tanaka and Nanaka Kajiki.
Race walks open the programme
The athletics programme had begun on Wednesday with the men’s and women’s half marathon race walks, which replaced the traditional 20km events for the first time.
Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi, the world record-holder for both the 20km and half marathon race walks, was beaten by China’s Shi Shengji, who won in 1:
