NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- China swept both half-marathon race walk titles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, with Shi Shengji claiming the first athletics gold of the Games before Yang Liujing won the women's crown.

The half-marathon race walk, contested over 21.0975 kilometers, is being held at the Asian Games for the first time. It replaced the 20km race walk on the program following World Athletics' change to the standard senior road race walking distances this season.

Shi and Toshikazu Yamanishi passed the 5km mark together in 19 minutes and 44 seconds. Shi then moved clear and was leading alone by 10km. Yamanishi and compatriot Kento Yoshikawa each had to serve a two-minute penalty after receiving three red cards.

The 19-year-old finished the men's race in one hour, 23 minutes and 32 seconds, beating Japan's world record holder Yamanishi, who took silver in 1:28:01. South Korea's Choe Byeongkwang won bronze in 1:28:35.

Shi said his plan had been to follow the leaders for much of the race, but he decided to take the lead when he saw their pace drop. He credited close attention to technique in training for avoiding the penalties that affected several rivals.

Speaking about the Chinese team, Yamanishi said: "I have long been aware of the strength of Chinese race walkers. Many talented young athletes have emerged since last year in particular. We are learning from them while also challenging them."

Yoshikawa, who finished seventh in the 20km race walk at last year's world championships, placed fourth. China's Li Chenjie was disqualified after receiving four red cards.

Chin Man Kit of Hong Kong, China finished fifth in 1:34:26. Chinese Taipei's Lo Sheng-qin and Chan Yung-kuei placed sixth and eighth, respectively.

In the women's race, Yang and teammate Jiang Yunyan led from the start. Yang held on to win in 1:33:40 after Jiang was sent to the penalty area. Kazakhstan's Kristina Morozova moved into second and finished in 1:35:25, one second ahead of bronze medalist Jiang.

Yang said the two Chinese athletes had planned to work together. Being left alone in front as fatigue set in was one of the hardest parts of her race, she added.

The athletics competition will run through Sept. 29.

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)