The two countries each had 16 golds four years ago in Doha. China hopes to capitalize on home advantage in the southern city Guangzhou this time, while Japan is counting on an elite squad led by four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima to prevent Chinese domination.
With Chinese coaches resting butterfly star Liu Zige, the Beijing Games 200-meter champion, Jiao took the spotlight on Saturday night, winning the women’s 100-meter butterfly in 57.76 seconds. She later helped the Chinese edge Japan by 0.44 seconds in the 4x100 medley relay.
China’s Zhu Qianwei took the first gold of the night in the women’s 200 freestyle, narrowly beating compatriot Tang Yi. The women’s 50 breaststroke final was also a gold-silver Chinese finish, with Wang Randi edging Zhao Jin.
Jiao wasn’t happy with her form despite her two golds on Saturday night at the Aoti Aquatics Center.
“I am not satisfied with the result. I swam a little slow in the first 50 meters. My coach told me to pay more attention on the tumble turn,” she said after her 100 butterfly win.
The strong showing by Jiao and her teammates was enough to send a message to their Japanese opponents.
“The Chinese athletes are really strong. They are very fierce in the water,” said Japan’s Yuka Kato, who grabbed bronze behind Jiao.
Asian record holder Yuya Horihata had to fend off a tough challenge from Chinese swimmers in the men’s 400 individual medley. He lagged in the butterfly and backstroke legs but took the lead in the breaststroke. The 20-year-old then lost the lead again after the next split to China’s Huang Chaosheng before edging ahead again in the freestyle. Huang was just 0.03 seconds behind for silver.
Horihata felt relieved afterward.
“I was very impressed with the young Chinese swimmers, so I had to do something to make Japan better by touching the wall first,” he said. “The race was not easy and the timing was close, but I got through thanks to lots of mental training and focus.” Takeshi Matsuda earned Japan’s second gold, winning the men’s 200 butterfly in 1 minute and 54.02 seconds, 1.21 seconds ahead of compatriot Ryusuke Sakata.
“Yuya Horihata had a good start for the Japanese when he won the gold medal, so I had to win to keep a good trend for the team,” he said, expressing a sense of urgency for the Japanese campaign.
With no lack of Sino-Japanese showdowns in Guangzhou, there were worries about fan hooliganism — especially considering a recent downturn in bilateral ties after Japan arrested a Chinese captain sailing near islands claimed by both countries. But so far there has been no untoward behavior. The Japanese swimmers were not heckled on Saturday night.
Kitajima was scheduled to make his debut in Guangzhou on Sunday morning in the 50 breaststroke heats. Five other golds are up for grabs in the men’s 100 butterfly, the women’s 400 individual medley, the men’s 200 freestyle, the women’s 200 backstroke and the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay.