Asian Games 2026: China’s Yu Zidi Wins Second Gold Medal
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
China’s teenage swimming sensation Yu Zidi won her second gold medal at the Asian Games on Monday after taking first place in the women’s 200-metre individual medley.
The 13-year-old clocked 2 minutes and 6.10 seconds at the Tokyo Olympic pool, finishing just 0.40 seconds outside Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh’s world record of 2:05.70.
Yu Zidi Continues Winning Run
Yu had already claimed gold in the 200m butterfly on Sunday and is scheduled to compete in the 400m individual medley later this week.
Speaking after her latest victory, Yu said she was pleased with the result and credited her coaching team for the hard work during training.
The young swimmer also said she would avoid becoming overconfident and would continue focusing on improving her performances.
Olympic Ambitions
Yu is already being discussed as a potential star at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A possible rivalry with McIntosh could develop over the coming years, with both swimmers competing in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley.
McIntosh won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and currently holds the world records in all three events.
Strong Performance at World Championships
Yu also made an impression at last year’s World Championships in Singapore, where she finished fourth in all three of her individual events at just 12 years old. She also helped China win a bronze medal in a relay.
Earlier this year, she attracted further attention by defeating American swimmer Regan Smith in the 200m butterfly at a competition in China. Smith had won silver in the event at the Paris Olympics.
Asian Games officials said available records were incomplete, so it was unclear whether Yu is the youngest gold medallist in the history of the event.
China Leads Swimming Medal Table
China continued its strong performance in swimming at the Asian Games.
The Chinese team won six of the seven swimming gold medals on Sunday and added five more titles from seven events on Monday.
In the 100m breaststroke, China’s Dong Zhihao and Japan’s Shin Ohashi shared the gold medal after recording identical times of 58.64 seconds.
China won 28 swimming gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and is on course for another strong campaign this time.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey successfully defended her Asian Games title in the 200m freestyle. The two-time Olympic silver medallist said winning another gold was a special moment for her.
