Not the man Japanese announcers expected to see on the podium, Shunya Takayama delivered Japan's only medal on day four of the Jakarta Asian Games, outrunning national record holder Taio Kanai for bronze in the men's 110 m hurdles. The entire focus of the Japanese coverage was on Kanai, but from the start he was out of form, ultimately finishing only 7th in 13.74. Takayama fought his way up from 4th, leaning so far at the line to overtake Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Khader Almuwallad for the medal that he fell. Wenjun Xie of China took the gold in 13.34 with Kueiru Chen of Taiwan running a PB of 13.39 for silver.
National record holder Sho Kawamoto was also out of form in the men's 800 m, 7th in a disappointing 1:50.87. Yume Kitamura and Ayano Shiomi came closer in the women's 800 m but were still out of the medals at 4th and 5th. Likewise in the women's 5000 m, where Rina Nabeshima and Minami Yamanouchi took 4th and 6th, and the women's javelin throw where Marina Sato came up just 28 cm short of bronze on her final throw with a 56.46 m for 4th. Japan's medal chances in the new mixed 4x400 m relay looked decent, but after anchor Jun Yamashita ran the first 200 m like the 200 m runner he is to move the team into 3rd he locked up in the home straight to fall back to 5th, so spent afterward that he couldn't get up from the track.
Collegiate record holder Meg Hemphill was virtually tied with Incehon Asian Games silver medalist Qingling Yang of China at the end of the first day of the women's heptathlon, just 29 points separating them. Teammate Yuki Yamasaki wasn't far back in 7th, 24 points out of the bronze position. In the men's 200 m, Yuki Koike was very impressive in the semifinals, leading the field by 0.18 in 20.35 to win the second semi with room to spare. National champion Shota Iizuka was 2nd in his semi in 20.64, making it through to the final but looking heavy and tight in comparison to Koike. A gold from Koike would fully validate his addition to the top tier of Japanese men's sprinting with two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 4x100 m relay.
Jakarta Asian Games Day Four Japanese Results
Jakarta, Indonesia, 8/26818complete results
Women's 800 m Final
1. Chunyu Wang (China) - 2:01.80
2. Margarita Mukasheva (Uzbekistan) - 2:02.40
3. Manal El Bahraoui (Bahrain) - 2:02.69
4. Yume Kitamura (Japan) - 2:03.88
5. Ayano Shiomi (Japan) - 2:04.57
6. Gayathika Artigala (Sri Lanka) - 2:05.50
7. Marta Yota (Bahrain) - 2:08.12
8. Thi Ly Vu (Vietnam) - 2:12.41
Men's 800 m Final
1. Manjit Singh (India) - 1:46.15
2. Jinson Johnson (India) - 1:46.35
3. Abubaker Abdall (Qatar) - 1:46.38
4. Amir Moradi (Iran) - 1:46.55 - PB
5. Abraham Rotich (Bahrain) - 1:47.05
6. Jamal Hairana (Qatar) - 1:49.05
7. Sho Kawamoto (Japan) - 1:50.87
8. Indunil H.E.M.I.G. (Sri Lanka) - 1:51.36
Women's 5000 m Final
1. Kalkidan Befkadu (Bahrain) - 15:08.08
2. Daria Maslova (Kyrgyzstan) - 15:30.57
3. Bontu Rebitu (Bahrain) - 15:36.78
4. Rina Nabeshima (Japan) - 15:40.37
5. Suriya Loganathan (India) - 15:49.30
6. Minami Yamanouchi (Japan) - 15:52.48
7. Sanjivani Jadhav (India) - 15:52.96
8. Sitora Khamidova (Uzbekistan) - 16:00.55
9. Alia Mohammed (U.A.E.) - 16:09.49
10. Dan Li (China) - 16:18.91
Men's 110 m Hurdles Final
1. Wenjun Xie (China) - 13.34
2. Kueiru Chen (Taiwan) - 13.39 - PB
3. Shunya Takayama (Japan) - 13.48
4. Ahmed Khader Almuwallad (Saudi Arabia) - 13.50
5. Byoung Jun Kim (South Korea) - 13.57
6. Jianhang Zeng (China) - 13.65
7. Taio Kanai (Japan) - 13.74
8. Weiting Yang (Taiwan) - 13.75
Mixed 4x400 m Relay Final
1. Bahrain - 3:11.89
2. India - 3:15.71
3. Kazakhstan - 3:19.52
4. China - 3:19.91
5. Japan - 3:21.90
6. Vietnam - 3:23.59
7. Thailand - 3:25.80
8. Indonesia - 3:29.96
Women's Javelin Throw Final
1. Shiying Liu (China) - 66.09 m - MR
2. Huihui Lyu (China) - 63.16 m
3. Gyeong Ae Gim (South Korea) - 56.74 m
4. Marina Saito (Japan) - 56.46
5. Huijun Li (Taiwan) - 54.83
Women's Heptathlon Intermediate Standings
1. Qingling Wang (China) - 1052
2. Meg Hemphill (Japan) - 1023
3. Purnima Hembram (India) - 1000
4. Chialing Chu (Taiwan) - 985
5. Swampna Barman (India) - 981
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7. Yuki Yamasaki (Japan) - 976
Men's 200 m Semifinal Standings
1. Yuki Koike (Japan) - 20.35 - Q, Heat 2
2. Chunhan Yang (Taiwan) - 20.53 - Q, Heat 2
3. Yaqoob Yaqoob (Bahrain) - 20.61 - Q, Heat 1
4. Shota Iizuka (Japan) - 20.64 - Q, Heat 1
5. Kuk Young Kim (South Korea) - 20.66 - Q, Heat 2
6. Taegeon Park (South Korea) - 20.69 - Q, Heat 1
7. Mohamed Al-Sadi (Oman) - 20.83 - q, Heat 2
8. Ge Bie (Vietnam) - 20.90 - q, Heat 2
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