Asian Games best for China Bangladesh wins maiden gold medal GUANGZHOU, China: Saudi Arabia clinched two titles at the Asian Games Friday to take its gold tally to five. Saudi Arabia won one gold in the men's 4x400m relay. The quartet of Ismail Al-Sibyani, Mohammed Al-Salhi, Hamed Al-Bishi and Yousef Masrahi clocked a personal best of 3min 02.30sec, with Japan taking silver (3:02.43) and China claiming bronze (3:03.66). Sultan Al-Habashi won Saudi Arabia the other gold in the men's shot put. The Asian record holder threw a best of 20.57 meters, with China's Zhang Jun taking silver (19.59m) and Taiwan's Chang Ming-huang claiming bronze (19.48). Powerhouse China, meanwhile, made Guangzhou its most successful Asian Games ever Friday as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan to win not just the cricket but its first gold medal in Asiad history. When Feng Lanlan clinched the women's 68kg karate title it pushed China's total golds to 184, shattering its previous best at the Beijing Asiad in 1990, a tally no other country has reached since the Games began in 1951 Guangzhou had already become its most dominant in terms of total medals when it marched past the 341 set in 1990. On the 14th and penultimate day of action, the host stretched its gold haul to 197 as its build-up to an assault on the United States at the London Olympics in 2012. China wasn't the only country celebrating with Bangladesh sneaking past Afghanistan by five wickets with just three balls to spare in a thrilling finale to the first-ever Asian Games cricket final. Bangladesh restricted Afghanistan to 118-8 and endured some anxious moments before Mohammad Shabbir hit two huge sixes to guide his country to its first gold medal in the seven Asian Games it has attended. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets for the bronze. The cricket title was among 48 gold medals to be awarded Friday. There are only five golds on offer on the last day Saturday. Former Dallas Mavericks center Wang Zhizhi scored 20 points to lead China to a 77-71 win over South Korea to defend its Asian Games basketball final. Japan, meanwhile, has lost hope of overhauling South Korea for second place. Other title showdowns saw India win the men's and women's kabbadi golds while China's women defeated Japan in the handball decider. On the final day of athletics, Bahrain's Ethiopian-born Mimi Gebregeiorges won the women's 5,000m ahead of Indian pair Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut. Bahrain's Bilisuma Shugi Gelassa, another Ethiopian, clinched the men's 10,000m after a late burst of speed in the final 30m saw him pip Qatar's Kenyan-born Essa Rashed at the line. China won the men's 4x100m relay and Thailand unexpectedly took the women's title, while another Chinese, Li Yanxi, leapt furthest to win the men's triple jump and Uzbekistan's Svetlana Radzivil claimed high jump honors. China's world beating divers, meanwhile, completed a predictable clean-sweep of all 10 gold. Iran had 20 gold medals by Friday night to hold fourth place in the standings, three clear of fifth-place Kazakhstan. – AgenciesMedals Table Nation G S B Total China 197 117 98 412 South Korea 75 63 91 229 Japan 48 73 94 215 Iran 20 14 25 59 Kazakhstan 18 23 37 78 India 14 17 33 64 Taiwan 13 16 38 67 Uzbekistan 11 22 23 56 Thailand 11 9 32 52 Malaysia 9 18 14 41 Hong Kong 8 15 17 40 North Korea 6 10 19 35 Saudi Arabia 5 3 5 13 Bahrain 5 0 4 9 Indonesia 4 9 13 26 Singapore 4 7 6 17 Kuwait 4 6 1 11 Qatar 4 5 6 15 Philippines 3 4 9 16 Pakistan 3 2 3 8 Mongolia 2 5 9 16 Jordan 2 2 2 6 Vietnam 1 17 15 33 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 2 5 Macau 1 1 4 6 Bangladesh 1 1 1 3 Tajikistan 1 0 3 4 Syria 1 0 1 2 Myanmar 0 5 3 8 UAE 0 4 1 5 Afghanistan 0 2 1 3 Iraq 0 1 2 3 Lebanon 0 1 2 3 Laos 0 0 2 2 Nepal 0 0 1 1 Oman 0 0 1 1 __
