Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi competes in the women's 200-meter butterfly final of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan, on September 20, 2026. Photo: VCG

Thirteen-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi of China made a record-breaking Asian Games debut in Tokyo on Sunday, spearheading a prolific opening medal day for China as its athletes collected 11 gold medals across the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. China now tops both the gold medal table and overall medal tally.

Yu clocked 2:05.08 to win the women's 200-meter butterfly, breaking the Asian Games record of 2:05.57 set by compatriot Zhang Yufei at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago. Fellow Chinese swimmer Chang Mohan, 15, took silver, 3.36 seconds behind Yu.

"It was only so-so. I hope I can swim even faster. I improved my time by 0.9 seconds here, and I believe I will perform better next time," Yu told reporters with a smile after the race.

The victory was Yu's first major individual title and came with her Asian Games debut. She will turn 14 next month.

The swimming competition is being staged at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, about 270 kilometers east of Nagoya, with 41 gold medals to be contested through September 25. 

Pan Zhanle, the world-record holder in the men's 100 meters freestyle, touched in 47.61 seconds to edge out South Korea's Kim Young-beom by just 0.04 seconds and defend the Asian Games title he won in Hangzhou in 2023. 

Pan's world-record of 46.40 seconds was set at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

"This was my best result in the past two years. It was still below what I expected, but I will take it step by step," Pan said after the race. "I believe I can swim faster in the future." 

Along with Yu and Pan's achievements, China dominated the opening night in the pool, winning six of the seven available swimming titles. 

The results added to a strong start for the Chinese delegation, which had already collected gold medals in modern pentathlon, triathlon, shooting and other events.

China's first gold of the Games came in the women's modern pentathlon team event. Zhang Mingyu, Wu Xiyao and Meng Xin combined to finish ahead of South Korea, with the Chinese team successfully defending the title.

Team members and staff of the Chinese women's modern pentathlon team take a selfie after the award ceremony at the Asian Games on September 20, 2026. The team won China's first gold medal of the ongoing Asian Games. Photo: VCG

The first gold medal of the entire Games, however, went to host Japan, with Takumi Hojo winning the men's individual triathlon in Gamagori, near Nagoya. China's Zhang Xirui finished second, nine seconds behind Hojo.

China responded in the women's individual triathlon, where Lin Xinyu won gold and Huang Anqi took silver, giving China a one-two finish.

In shooting, China's Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu and Du Yuchen won the women's 10-meter air rifle team title with a world-record 1,904.2 points.

Elsewhere in team sports, China's U23 football team was held to a goalless draw by Iran in Kariya.

China, which opened its campaign with a 2-1 comeback victory over North Korea, now has four points from two Group B matches. It will face the United Arab Emirates in its final group match on Wednesday in Toyota.

Head coach Antonio Puche said his team had produced a strong performance despite struggling to create clear scoring opportunities.

"I think we did an excellent game in many aspects such as positioning, tactics and intensity. We know it is difficult to compete against a team like Iran," Puche told reporters. 

Zhang Yuning (right) of China competes for the ball during the men's football Group B match between China and Iran on day one of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya at Wave Stadium Kariya on September 20, 2026 in Kariya, Aichi, Japan. Photo: VCG

Iran coach Hossein Abdi acknowledged the difficulty of breaking down China's defensive structure.

"China's team tried to defend deep, but they were very compact, and they stayed very complex. They defended with several layers," he told reporters.  

Puche told the Global Times that the team had continued trying to build attacks and penetrate Iran's defense despite the physical nature of the contest.

"We tried boldly and bravely to play through and organize with the ball, and we had some opportunities that came very close to scoring," he told the Global Times. 

China made several substitutions late in the game, but Puche said the changes were largely prompted by physical concerns rather than dissatisfaction with the starting lineup.

"The starting players were in very good condition, so I didn't want to make changes that might disrupt that state," he said. 

He also played down the temptation to look beyond the final group match.

"Right now, our focus is on the next game. We need to prepare well and organize ourselves for the match against the UAE," Puche said. 

The draw leaves both China and Iran on four points heading into the final round of Group B matches, with China scheduled to face the UAE and Iran to meet North Korea.