Chinese reign supreme
( 2001-05-28 09:56 ) (1 )

China had that winning feeling again after striking most golds to secure victory at the East Asian Games.

But as the 10-country and region event came to a close yesterday, host Japan could still claim one scrap of consolation: though well behind in golds, the hosts managed to go even with China on total medals won.

China easily surpassed the rest of the field here, with 85 golds to Japan's 61. But the two countries were equal in overall medals, at 191 each.

South Korea had 34 golds and 112 medals overall. Kazakhstan had 13 golds, Chinese Taipei six, Hong Kong three, Macao and Mongolia one each. The Pacific island of Guam took home one bronze medal.

Before Sunday's closing ceremony, golds were won in judo, volleyball, the Chinese martial art of wushu and the exhibition events of rowing and field hockey.

Japan won the volleyball gold, beating South Korea in straight sets.

China and Japan split the judo golds, winning two apiece. China added golds in wushu, which also provided Macao its first gold of the games.

Finals in men's basketball and soccer were also held, but the golds had already been decided because one of the finalists, Australia, was in Osaka by invitation and not eligible for medals.

China actually lost its basketball final. The Australian squad, which had also beaten China in round-robin play, won 105-93.

Japan won its soccer gold more decisively, beating Australia 2-1 in their final on a free kick by Tatsuya Ishikawa with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

"We are very satisfied," Noriyuki Ichihara, head of the Japan delegation, said of the host team's performance. "We expected about 60 golds, and that was pretty much how it came out."

Organizers had been less pleased by the often empty stands at the games. By yesterday, attendance for all events stood at a combined 167,319 - less than half of what organizers had forecast.

Part of the reason, along with bad weather midway through the event, is its lack of name recognition compared with an event like the Olympics - which Osaka is also bidding to host in 2008.

Though the games are run like a mini-Olympics, bringing together nearly 3,000 athletes and officials in 17 sports, no world or Asian records have been set in Osaka.

Many of Japan's top athletes in such sports as judo and soccer aren't here, either, further dampening local interest. And although Australia joined the games as a guest, its team did not include such stars as Ian Thorpe, the triple gold-medal winning swimmer in Sydney.

Even so, one Japanese athlete was thankful for the exposure.

Yoriko Okamoto, an Osaka native who won silver in women's tae kwon do, said she was pleased by the small but spirited crowd of fans who turned out to cheer her on.

"I appreciate them taking time off from work to come and cheer," she said.