up Chinese superstar Lin Dan outplayed world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei to win the Asian Games badminton title Sunday as India dominated the track with two gold medals. The popular Lin, who had won world and Olympic titles but never an Asian Games crown, was in top form in front of a vociferous home crowd to beat his Malaysian arch-rival 21-13, 15-21, 21-10. It was also a night to remember for Indian athletes who won gold in the women's 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase. Preeja Sreedharan led an Indian 1-2 in the 10,000m, clinching the title with a stunning burst of pace into the home straight ahead of teammate Kavita Raut with Bahrain's Ethiopian-born Shitaya Habtegebrel third. On a night of upsets, Sudha Singh then held off a desperate late lunge by China's Jin Yuan to win the steeplechase by a head with Japan's Minori Hayakari taking bronze. “I'm very excited because in the Commonwealth Games I came fifth and my burning desire was to improve my time and do better,” said Singh. Day 9 of the biggest multi-sports event after the Olympics also saw women's rugby and boxing take place for the first time. The hosts boosted their already inflated gold medal tally to 146 with South Korea on 55 and Japan on 30. Sreedharan, who won in 31min 50.28sec, said she stuck to her race plan, which ultimately paid dividends. At a packed Aota Main Stadium, Bahrain's Kenyan-born Ali Hasan Mahboob, previously known as Silas Kirui, claimed the men's 5,000m title in a slow 13min 47.84sec. Two other Kenyan-born athletes completed the podium: Qatar's defending champion James Kwalia with silver and teammate Felix Kibore with bronze. Tajikistan's Dilshod Nazarov took the men's hammer while China's Li Long was the women's shot put champion. Meanwhile, all the leading sprinters comfortably cruised into the men's 100m semifinals, including defending champion Yahya Habeeb of Saudi Arabia and Qatar's Asian record holder Samuel Francis. After a women's tournament won by Pakistan, men's cricket made its Asian Games debut with China performing on the international stage for the first time. But it was not the start it wanted as Malaysia crushed it by 89 runs. Rugby also got underway with China making a confident start by thrashing South Korea 51-0 in the first women's match ever to feature at an Asian Games. Women's boxing was also held for the first time as the sport attempts to snare a wider audience, with fighters from China, North Korea, and Philippines all getting wins. Elsewhere, dominant five-time World Open champion Nicol David clinched a third Asian Games squash title with compatriot Mohamad Azlan Iskander completing a Malaysian double with the men's gold. Earlier, Indian shooter Ronjan Sodhi won the double trap with 186 hits. Shaikh Juma Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates won the silver with 182 in one of four shooting finals Sunday. Kimiko Date Krumm's 40-year-old legs finally gave out on her Sunday. Date Krumm, the Japanese veteran who returned to the WTA Tour in 2008 after a 12-year break, lost 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2 in the semifinals to China's Peng Shuai. It ended the No. 1-seeded Date Krumm's attempt to win Asian Games gold medals 16 years apart, her first having come in front of her home fans in 1994 at Hiroshima. Peng will play Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan in the gold medal final. Amanmuradova rallied to beat Indian star Sania Mirza 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours, 49 minutes in the later semifinal. Defending champion South Korea and Pakistan recorded emphatic wins Sunday to set up a semifinal clash in the men's field hockey. Pakistan outclassed Bangladesh 6-1, while the Koreans whipped Singapore 12-1 in their last league matches. India, which topped Group B with four straight wins after a 3-2 success over Japan, will clash with Malaysia in Tuesday's other semifinal. Malaysia secured a 4-2 victory over China. – Agence France
