The Asian Games was hit by its first positive drugs test on Friday as anger mounted over the controversial disqualification of a Taiwan taekwondo fighter. Uzbek judoka Shokir Muminov was stripped of his -81kg silver medal and thrown out of the sporting showpiece after testing positive for methylhexaneamine, a stimulant used widely as a nasal decongestant.
"The athlete has been disqualified from the competition as well as these Games and his performance in the competition has been nullified," said Dr Mani Jegathesan, chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia's medical committee. On Day 7 of the world's biggest multi-sports event after the Olympics, China piled up more gold to stand on 126 to South Korea's 43 and Japan's 24.
With more than a week still to go, they are poised to smash through their all-time Asiad record of 183 golds achieved at the 1990 Games in Beijing. Their chances of glory on the badminton courts improved when a subdued Taufik Hidayat, Indonesia's biggest sports star, fell in the quarter-finals, meekly bowing out to South Korea's Park Sung-Hwan 21-15, 21-16
"I had a bad game. I don't want to give any excuses for why I lost. I just lost," said the two-time defending champion. "I don't feel anything right now." The world number three's demise opened the door wider to Chinese heartthrob Lin Dan to add a maiden Asian Games title to his Olympic and world crowns.
Lin crushed Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh 21-9, 21-16. His main obstacle is likely to be Malaysian world number one Lee Chong Wei, who breezed into the last four with 21-12, 21-17 mauling of Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana. China's Chen Jin beat Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen in the other quarter-final.
Wang Shixian, the world number four, defeated a sluggish Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong 21-14, 21-14 while Wang Xin crushed Japan's Eriko Hirose 21-7, 21-15. Elsewhere, China won the table tennis men's, women's and mixed doubles gold medals while Iran's Behdad Salimikordasiabi carried on his country's proud tradition by winning the men's weightlifting super-heavyweight class.
The 20-year-old world champion finished on an aggregate of 440kg, 12kg clear of Jeon Sangguen of South Korea, with another Iranian, Sajjad Anoushiravani, taking bronze. Meanwhile, a row over the disqualification of Yang Shu-chun on Wednesday from the taekwondo competition for using extra sensors in her socks showed little sign of abating. Taiwanese hackers launched cyber-attacks on Asian Taekwondo Union's website, writing "Shame on you" and "Give back the gold" amid accusations that China and South Korea were behind the decision, the Central News Agency said.