DOHA, Dec 11 - China continued to mop up gold medals across a spectrum of sports on Monday as they rumble towards a record Asian Games haul.

Sailing, canoeing, diving and athletics golds were among those to fall to the world's most populous nation as well as both the men's and women's beach volleyball.

China won 150 golds at the last Asian Games in Pusan in 2002. Its record is 183 in Beijing in 1990.

Chinese athletes picked up another 14 golds on Monday, and they top the standings with 124 from 309 on offer.

South Korea's Park Sung-hyun won the women's individual archery gold, as expected, and her nation swept four golds at the golf, leapfrogging Japan into second spot overall.

The South Koreans trail China by 80 gold medals. Their 44 is one more than third-placed Japan.

On a bitterly cold night at the Khalifa stadium Japan's Shingo Suetsugu underlined his status as Asia's fastest man over 200m by dashing to gold in 20.6 seconds.

China's Yang Yaozu was second in 20.71, while Suetsugu's compatriot Shinji Takahira just edged out Saudi Hamed Al Bishi for the bronze in 20.81.

Suetsugu was the first Asian to win a sprint medal at world championships or Olympics when he got a 200m bronze at the 2003 worlds in Paris.

"I felt the race was like a flash," Suetsugu told reporters. "I had confidence... it was good."

HEAD SCARF

Another Asian record holder triumphed in the men's 800m, Kenyan-born Yusuf Saad Kamel taking gold for Bahrain in 1:45.74. Mohammad Al Azemi won silver for Kuwait, while bronze went to Iran's Ehsan Mohajershojaei.

Bahrain's Ruqaya Al Ghasara claimed the women's 200m title in 23.19, adding gold to the bronze she won in the 100m.

Uzbekistan's Guzel Khubbieva took silver in 23.30 with Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe clocking 23.42 for bronze as the top three from the 100m also dominated the longer sprint.

Al Ghasara, who runs in leggings with her hair and neck covered with a white head scarf emblazoned with the Nike logo, raised her arms in triumph before dropping to her knees and kissing the ground.

"Thank God for this medal, for this great achievement for the Bahraini people," she said.

"I was very well prepared for this race and I was expecting a gold medal because this event is my speciality."

Earlier on Monday a fourth weightlifter tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped of her silver medal.

Myanmar's Oo Mya Sanda, who won silver in the 75kg division, failed the test when traces of a banned muscle-building agent were found in her urine.

Oo's compatriot Than Kyi Kyi had been the first athlete to test positive for doping at the Games on Saturday. She was followed by two lifters from Uzbekistan, Elmira Ramileva and Alexander Urinov, on Sunday.

Oo's silver medal goes to South Korea's Kim Soon-hee while Indonesia's Sinta Darmariani is bumped up from fourth to bronze.

China's Cao Lei won the 75kg gold medal.