Cricket washed out as badminton queen An reigns over Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 29 - Wet weather and logistical snafus continued to rain on the Asian Games parade on Tuesday but a string of Olympic champions cut through the gloom as surfing celebrated its first medals at the continental showpiece.

Aichi-Nagoya organisers were relieved as a typhoon weakened to a tropical storm and shifted away from southern Japan on day ten of full competition.

But there was no sparing the cricket, with the second set of quarter-finals washed out at sodden Korogi Sports Park.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh earned a free ticket into Thursday's semi-finals for having a higher ranking than their respective opponents Nepal and Malaysia.

Sri Lanka will meet defending champions India, who along with Bangladesh's next opponents Pakistan also had a rain-fuelled armchair ride into the last four.

It will be all hands on deck to dry out the field in time, said tournament director Jarrad Shearer.

"We’ve got some soppers, we’ve got some squeegees, some big old brooms, we’ve got sponges," he said.

Transport problems have plagued the Games, disrupting athletes' preparations and delaying competitions.

Organisers apologised to Pakistan and South Korean volleyballers for bus trips to wrong venues.

The operational issues overshadowed the sport despite brilliant individual performances.

South Korea's badminton queen An Se-young became the first woman to successfully defend an Asian Games singles gold as the world and Olympic champion beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-17 21-9.

'BIG BABY'

The peerless An, whose dominance of the sport has drawn comparisons with Chinese men's great Lin Dan, did not drop a game through the tournament.

"I’m going for all of these records. Lin Dan made a lot of history. I’m trying to catch up with what he did," the relentless 24-year-old said

China's twice Olympic champion Li Wenwen cried after winning the women's super-heavyweight gold, the first Asian Games title for the 26-year-old known affectionately as "Big Baby" in her homeland.

Uzbekistan's world record holder Akbar Djuraev, the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist and Paris runner-up, won the men's 110kg gold, hoisting a total of 423kg.

But there was only devastation for confused Iraqi weightlifter Ali Ammar who gave up the men's super-heavyweight gold to Iranian Ali Davoudi by one kilogram.

With the countdown clock down to its last seconds, Ammar scrambled onto the floor fumbling with his belt but missed his last clean and jerk lift.

Japanese fans cheered in the rain at Long Beach south of Nagoya as their surfers swept the golds in the sport's Asian Games debut.

Japanese American Kanoa Igarashi booked his ticket to a third Olympics, five years after taking silver at the Tokyo Olympics, and will compete near his home break in California at Los Angeles 2028.

"The Olympics and the Asian Games were on my mind every day, and before going to sleep, I’d always visualise myself holding the gold medal," said the 28-year-old, who recorded a rare perfect 10 in his semi-final against Filipino Toby Espejon.

"Securing a place at the Olympics is truly a dream come true – it’s even better than I could have imagined."

Eighteen-year-old surfer Mirai Ikeda will join him in LA, having trounced China's Yang Siqi in the women's final.

Sluggish ticket sales and low fan interest at the Games were on stark display for the women's soccer semi-finals at the near-empty Shizuoka Stadium.

An own goal and a Myong Yu Jong strike put three-times champions North Korea into their seventh final out of the last eight Games with a 2-0 victory over China in pouring rain.

North Korea will face an under-strength Japan for the gold after Chiina Kamiya scored a second-half double for the hosts in a 2-0 semi-final win over South Korea. REUTERS