Japan’s Shin Ohashi Reaches Asian Games 50m Breaststroke Final
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
TOKYO: Japanese swimming sensation Shin Ohashi moved closer to a third Asian Games gold medal after qualifying for the men’s 50-metre breaststroke final on Friday.
The 17-year-old swimmer recorded a time of 27.00 seconds in the semi-final, finishing just 0.13 seconds behind China’s Qin Haiyang, who posted the fastest qualifying time.
Ohashi’s latest performance came less than 24 hours after he set a new world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke.
Ohashi Sets New 200m World Record
Ohashi produced one of the standout performances of the Games on Thursday by completing the 200m breaststroke in 2 minutes 4.83 seconds.
His time improved the previous world record, held by China’s Qin Haiyang, by more than half a second.
The performance earned Ohashi his second gold medal in Tokyo. He had earlier won the 100m breaststroke title after finishing level with China’s Dong Zhihao.
The teenager’s rapid rise has attracted significant attention in Japan, with local television networks repeatedly showing highlights of his record-breaking swim.
Teenager Focused on 50m Final
Despite his demanding schedule, Ohashi said he felt comfortable during the 50m semi-final.
“I felt comfortable, but I have to get myself pumped up for the final,” he said.
Ohashi had also been dealing with Covid shortly before the Asian Games, but managed to recover in time to compete.
He admitted that he had not yet fully processed his world-record performance, saying he spent much of his time responding to messages before going to sleep.
Qin Praises Young Japanese Swimmer
Qin Haiyang, who did not compete in the 200m breaststroke in Tokyo after winning bronze in the 100m event, praised Ohashi’s performance.
The Chinese swimmer said he had great respect for the teenager and expected him to produce more strong performances in the future.
Ohashi has also received praise from fellow Japanese swimmer Ippei Watanabe, a former 200m breaststroke world-record holder.
Watanabe said he repeatedly watched Ohashi’s record-breaking swim online and joked that he may have lost more sleep watching the performance than the young swimmer himself.
Third Gold Medal in Sight
Ohashi has already won two breaststroke gold medals at the Asian Games and will now compete for another title in the 50m event.
A victory in the final would complete a three-gold-medal breaststroke campaign for the 17-year-old and further highlight his emergence as one of Japan’s leading young swimmers.
