With four days remaining in the Asian Games 2018, China maintain a massive advantage over Japan atop the medal leaderboard.
China has collected 219 medals so far, including 102 gold. Japan, meanwhile, has 162 overall medals and 52 golds. The Republic of Korea sits in third place with 129 and 37, respectively. Here's a look at the top 10 countries in the medal standings, with the full medal table available on the Asian Games' official site:
Asian Games 2018 Medal Count--Top 10
1. China, 219 (102 gold, 67 silver, 50 bronze)
2. Japan, 162 (52 gold, 47 silver, 63 bronze)
3. Republic of Korea, 129 (37 gold, 42 silver, 50 bronze)
4. Indonesia, 88 (30 gold, 22 silver, 36 bronze)
5. IR Iran, 52 (19 gold, 16 silver, 17 bronze)
6. Chinese Taipei, 51 (13 gold, 17 silver, 21 bronze)
7. Uzbekistan, 45 (12 gold, 17 silver, 16 bronze)
8. DPR Korea, 31 (12 gold, eight silver, 11 bronze)
9. India 54, (11 gold, 20 silver, 23 bronze)
10. Thailand, 58 (nine gold, 13 silver, 36 bronze)
China added to its haul Wednesday with gold medals across a number of events.
The Chinese dominated synchronized diving. Chang Yani and Shi Tingmao teamed up for a win in the women's three-meter springboard, while Chen Aisen and Yang Hao won the 10-meter men's platform. In the athletics discipline, Wang Kaihua placed first in the men's 20-kilometer walk, and Yang Jiayu prevailed in the women's 20-kilometer walk.
Although it won't be able to catch China, Japan enjoyed a pretty successful Wednesday. Sakura Yosozumi, Kensuke Sasaoka and Keyaki Ike nearly swept the skateboard portion of the Asian Games. Japan also prevailed in men's team cross country paragliding
The biggest story from Wednesday didn't involve the medal stage. The Republic of Korea defeated Vietnam 3-1 in the semifinals of the men's football competition to advance to Saturday's final against Japan. Seung-woo Lee and Ui-jo Hwang provided the goals, with Lee's brace bookending Korea's scoring output.
A number of interested parties from London have been following the tournament with rapt attention since the result will determine the availability of Tottenham Hotspur attacker Heung-Min Son. Should the Republic of Korea win a gold medal in the Asian Games, Son will be exempt from his state-mandated 21 months of military service.
After the match, Son downplayed his individual quest for gold, instead emphasizing the team's collective push.
"We are so close to gold," he said, per Reuters (via ESPN.com). "We fight for that. I don't need to say anything, I am ready for that."
Asian Games 2018 Medal Tally
Sr. No. | Countries | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
1 | China | 106 | 68 | 50 | 224 |
2 | Japan | 53 | 47 | 64 | 164 |
3 | Republic of Korea | 37 | 43 | 53 | 133 |
4 | Indonesia | 30 | 22 | 37 | 89 |
5 | IR Iran | 19 | 17 | 19 | 55 |
6 | Uzbekistan | 13 | 18 | 18 | 49 |
7 | Chinese Taipei | 13 | 17 | 21 | 51 |
8 | DPR Korea | 12 | 8 | 11 | 31 |
9 | India | 11 | 20 | 23 | 54 |
10 | Thailand | 9 | 13 | 36 | 58 |
11 | 9 | 11 | 34 | 54 | |
12 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 18 | |
13 | Vietnam | 4 | 15 | 13 | 32 |
14 | Hong Kong, China | 4 | 12 | 17 | 33 |
15 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 24 | |
16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | |
17 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 17 | |
18 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 | |
19 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 17 | |
20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | |
21 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 18 | |
22 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | |
23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
24 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
25 | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
25 | Macau, China | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
28 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
29 | Korea | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
31 | Lao PDR | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
34 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
35 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
35 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
37 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
- | Total | 363 | 363 | 484 | 1210 |
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