Asian Games Roundup : China Gold Haul Now at 32 After Near-Sweep in Gymnastics

Gymnast Li Ning of China became the first quadruple gold medalist in the 10th Asian Games Wednesday, winning the men’s floor exercises and rings, while his compatriots collected seven other medals in the sport.

Overall, the Chinese took five of six golds in men’s individual gymnastics and three of four in the women’s events.

Among the women gymnasts, China’s Chen Cuiting, the all-round champion and a member of the gold medal team, earned her third gold of the Games, in the floor exercises.

Only the South Koreans could break China’s gymnastics domination, winning one men’s gold and two in women’s events, thanks to a tie with a Chinese gymnast.

In swimming, the Chinese thwarted the bid by Japan’s Katsunori Fujiwara for a fourth gold by winning the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay. China won four of the day’s five swimming finals, making a sizable dent in Japan’s power in the pool.

One of the major upsets in swimming was the defeat of Japan’s Hiroko Nagasaki in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke. She was beaten by China’s Huang Xiaomin, whose clocking of 1 minute, 12.70 seconds broke Nagasaki’s Games record of 1:12:73. Nagasaki settled for the silver, one-hundredth of a second behind.

These efforts, plus a gold for the fourth consecutive day in weightlifting, gave the Chinese 32 golds, 24 silvers and 16 bronzes. Japan had 15 golds, 20 silvers and 18 bronzes and South Korea had 12 golds, 12 silvers and 15 bronzes.

In the weightlifting, China’s Yao Jingyuan tied the Asian Games record of 678 pounds in the 149-pound class. Teammate Lin Xiangkui lifted the same total, but got the silver because his body weight was heavier than Yao’s.

But the gold monopoly of the three East Asian sports powers finally was broken by the Philippines and Iran.

The Games’ youngest golfer, 16-year-old Ramon Brobio of the Philippines, beat South Korean Kim Ki-Sub, 47, the oldest, in a sudden-death playoff. South Korea beat Japan for the golf team title.

Iran’s gold came in the 30-kilometer points cycling race when Ali Zangi Abadi beat Japan’s Yuichiro Kamiyama.

Outside the sports arenas--sites for the 1988 Olympics, for which South Korea also will be the host--several hundred students demonstrated against the Seoul government and the Asiad at Joongang University. The students threw rocks and gasoline bottle bombs and police responded with tear gas.

Although there have been several demonstrations since the Games began last Saturday, they have been small-scale. The government has closed some university campuses as a security precaution during the 16-day Asiad.

Political controversy also could rear up during the two-day general assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia, which will consider the membership application of Taiwan. The meeting begins Thursday. OCA membership would allow Taiwan to compete at the 1990 Asian Games, which will be staged in Peking. The Peking government claims Taiwan is a part of China and insists that in international bodies, Taiwan not be treated as an independent country.