AN ASIAD FOR THE AGES

Li Ling (athletics, China)

Li Ling broke her own pole vault Asian Games record to win her third straight Asiad gold.

The 34-year-old needed only two attempts to clear 4.30m and 4.53m. She went on to clear 4.63m on her first try, improving the Games record she set five years ago in Jakarta by three centimeters.

"I'm not as nervous as before. When I first participated in the Asian Games, I would get very nervous, but now my mindset is much calmer," she said. "This is because my goal is very clear, and that's to break my personal best. When I set my goal higher, I don't have an overwhelming obsession with the gold medal because I have higher objectives to pursue."

Abdullah Al-Rashidi (shooting, Kuwait)

The 60-year-old Abdullah Al-Rashidi increased his tally of Asian Games medals to an impressive 10 in Hangzhou, while also matching the world record in the men's skeet final.

"In Kuwait, we face significant limitations in training conditions, but I possess innate talent, coupled with experience and relentless training, which have brought me to this level," said Al-Rashidi.

Reza Alipour Shenazandifard (climbing, Iran)

Iran's Reza Alipour Shenazandifard, 29, upset several favorites to retain his men's speed climbing title.

Since triumphing in Jakarta in 2018, he has largely been out of the medals on the international stage.

"I trained hard every day. I lost, lost, lost, but still I trained from morning to night. Sometimes I cried alone at night, but I never gave up," he said.

Gong Lijiao (shot put, China)

Olympic champion Gong Lijiao pocketed her third Asiad shot put title with a throw of 19.58 meters.

The 38-year-old became a Grand Slam winner after topping the podium at the Tokyo Olympics with a personal best of 20.58 meters, and had been hoping to better that distance in Hangzhou.

"I will keep pursuing improvements. I hope to break the 21-meter mark at the Paris Olympics," she said.

Alexey Lutsenko (road cycling, Kazakhstan)

Kazakhstan's Alexey Lutsenko made it a hat-trick of golds in the men's individual time trial when he successfully defended his title in Hangzhou.

The 31-year-old, who won the event at Incheon 2014 and Jakarta 2018, finished in 48 minutes, 5.75 seconds.

"This achievement was the main goal for this year, and I put in a lot of effort for it," he said.

Oksana Chusovitina (artistic gymnastics, Uzbekistan)

The 48-year-old Oksana Chusovitina is a true legend of gymnastics, exemplifying the enduring spirit of the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The eight-time Olympian narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the vault final with a score of 13.383 points, only 0.15 points behind third-placed Yu Linmin of China.

Amazingly, Chusovitina is not done yet. "Before the Olympic qualification competitions begin, I need to work on certain aspects," she said.

Ma Long (table tennis, China)

After helping China collect its eighth straight men's team title in Hangzhou, Ma Long bade farewell to his Asiad journey at the age of 34.

Arguably the greatest table tennis player of all time, Ma made his Asiad debut in 2006 in Doha, where he pocketed the first of his six Asian Games gold medals, in the team event. He then claimed the singles and team golds at Guangzhou 2010, and topped the podium again in the doubles and team events at Incheon 2014.

"My Asian Games might be done, but I still have other competitions coming up," Ma said.

Li Qian (boxing, China)

Having lost to India's Lovlina Borgohain in the semifinals of the world championships in March, Li Qian got the better of her rival in the women's 75kg final to clinch her maiden Asiad gold.

"I have trained hard over the past nine years," said Li, a silver medalist at the 2014 Incheon Games. "It has been a long, tough journey for me to finally win gold."

The 33-year-old now has her sights set on next year's Paris Olympics, where she hopes to improve on the silver medal she won at the Tokyo Games.

"I'm more stable and mature mentally. I also have higher standards for myself," she said.