ALL THE NEWS, ACTION AND REACTION

By Paul Osborne and Nick Butler in Incheon
Click refresh for latest updates. All times stated are South Korean

22:30 As the final sport draws ever closing to its conclusion, Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa leads 2-0 in the final match, it's about time we wrapped up our blog for the evening.

After another thrilling day of action here in Incheon, with drama in the football, excellence in the athletics and sheer class in the badminton, it's time to restart the batteries in anticipation of more of the same tomorrow.

So remember to join us at the usual time of 09:00 ready for another magnificent day of sport, including a first day for mountain bike cycling, the highly anticipated rugby sevens and, of course, South Korea's national sport - Taekwondo!

Before then, here are a few of the best images from today...

North Korea celebrate a last minute goal in their semi-final encounter with South Korea ©Getty Images
Iran's Parviz Hadi Basmanj celebrates after defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Shabanbay in the mens freestyle 125 kg wrestling final ©Getty ImagesGold medallist Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn celebrates after victory against Taiwan's Hsieh Su Wei and Chin Wei Chan during her tennis women's doubles final match with Luksika Kumkhum ©Getty ImagesChina's Lin Dan celebrates after defeating compatriot Chen Long in the men's singles badminton final ©Getty Images























Incheon 2014 gold medal22:23 It's taken just 69 minutes for India to win the final gold medal of the evening as Sania Mirza and Saketh Sai Myneni tie up the second set 6-3 in just 11 minutes. 

The top seeds look to have been on dynamite form in the closing set as they defeat the top seeds in stunning fashion.

22:15 A brilliant comeback in the table tennis has seen Singapore level the score at 2-2 

Ai Fukuhara and Kasumi Ishikawa had given Japan a 2-0 advantage, however, wins for Yihan Zhou and Tianwei Feng has brought the match to a decider.

Ishikawa will go for Japan in this final fixture while Ye Lin, who lost to Fukuhara in the opening match, plays for Singapore.

22:06 As we wait for the tennis result to come in, why don't we give you a brief update on a couple of sports from earlier..

In the second men's handball semi-final, South Korea recorded a comfortable 27-23 victory over Bahrain to set up a finale with Qatar, who defeated Iran in the earlier fixture.

Chinese star Cui Qiuxia was right to talk of a China/South Korea final in the hockey as the hosts bested India 3-1 in the second women's semi-final.

There will also be a South Korea versus China final in the men's team table tennis contest after respective wins over Japan and Taiwan.

In the bowling, Singapore hold a 95 point lead in the women's team of five coming into the second block following a score of 3144 in block one.

South Korea are their closest rivals after an opening score of 3049 while Taiwan sit a further 54 points afield in fourth.

Qatar recorded a 29-21 victory over Iran in the first men's handball semi-final ©Getty Images

21:58 There are few sports left running as evening begins to engulf us here in Incheon.

A single gold medal is up for grabs (well technically two) as Taiwan and India go head to head in the tennis mixed doubles final. India's Sania Mirza and Saketh Sai Myneni have the lead in that one as they face Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan.

The women's team table tennis semi-final between Indonesia and Japan is also ongoing with Japan leading two matches to one.

North beat South in all-Korean football semi-final

North Korean flag21:52 There's sheer pandemonium at the football where North Korea have just scored an injury time winner against South Korea.

Fighting from a goal down, the North Korean side levelled through Yegyong Ri, before a 93rd minute goal from substitute Unbyol Ho seals their progressions to the women's final where they will meet Japan.

There were shouts and screams inside the media centre when that one went in, very few in delight, however.

Incheon 2014 gold medal21:45 A final gold of the evening to bring you now as China take a straight sets victory in the mixed doubles badminton final.

The duo of Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, top seeds in this tournament, secure a 21-16, 21-14 scoreline against third seeds Tontowi Ahmad and  Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia to take the gold medal.

The same two nations secured the bronze medals earlier in the week.

Twitter logoCongratulations to @mutazbarshim & Muammar Barshim for claiming gold & bronze medals in the #Incheon2014 #AsianGames #GoQatar #TeamQatar - The Qatar Olympic Team celebrate the gold medals won in the athletics earlier this evening.

Incheon 2014 gold medal21:33 Iran's gold medal rush continues in the wrestling as Parviz Hadi Basmanj wraps up the final event of the evening with victory over Kazakhstan's Daulet Shabanbay.

The two-time Asian champion was well on top of this encounter, running away with a 6-1 scoreline come the final bell to defeat the four-time Asian Championships bronze medallist.

Koungjin Nam makes it four medals out of four for South Korea as he defeats Mongolian wrestler Chuluunbat Jargalsaikhan in the first playoff final, while ensures a second for Japan with a win over Syria's Raja Al Krad.

Quote marks"Today is one of the great days. I'd like to thank all and congratulate all the teams. Thank you for the medals. You are also tough. Congratulations to all of you. I announce that this is my last Asian Games. I am happy for all this."
- Tamarine Tanasugarn reflects on a brilliant gold, although the result is slightly tinged with sadness as the player announces that this will be her last Games.

Tamarine Tanasugarn celebrates her gold in the tennis doubles final in what will be her last Asian Games ©AFP/Getty Images

Incheon 2014 gold medal21:14 Quite the surprise in the women's tennis doubles final as Thailand defeat second seeds Taiwan to take the gold.

Luksika Kumkhum and Tamarine Tanasugarn fought back from a set down to seal the win on a tiebreaker against Chan Chin Wei and Hsieh Su Wei.

A tough first set went in favour of the favourites as they pulled of a 7-5 victory. The Thai players improved vastly in the second as they flew to a 6-3 win before taking the tiebreaker 10-3.

Incheon 2014 gold medal21:08 Gold number two for Iran in the wrestling as Meisam Mostafajoukar defeats Yesbolat Nurzhumbayev of Kazakhstan by technical fall 14-4 to win the gold medal in men's freestyle 86kg. The Iranian has been on good form this year after taking gold at the Asian Championships in Astana, and totally dominated this final.

Umidjon Ismanov added to Uzbekistan's growing medal tally as he secured one of the two bronze medals, with South Korea's Gwanuk Kim taking the other.

Qatari returns from doping ban to win final athletics event of evening

21:00 We mentioned Rashid Ramzi earlier, but Sudanese-born Kamal is another to have recently returned from a drugs ban. He won a 5000 metres and 3,000m steeplechase double at the 2011 Pan Arab Games, but tested positive for EPO soon after and was banned until January of this year.

A slightly salutary note to end the athletics on, but another entertaining evening. The star was Barshim, but some good middle distance races as well and a brilliant heptathlon victory for Uzbekistan. 

Incidentally, some interesting comments earlier today from OCA honorary vice-president Wei Jizhong on athletes born outside Asia switching allegiance. He admitted it was something they have to focus on, but OCA director general, Hussain Al-Musallam, who spoke alongside him, seemed less bothered, saying it helps raise the standard of Asian sport. Read our article on this here: OCA honorary life vice-president warns of dangers of nations "buying" athletes

Incheon 2014 gold medal20:57 Some tennis and wrestling to update you with as well but, first, the final athletics gold medal of the evening to bring you. And Qatar's Abubaker Ali Kamal takes gold in the men's 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:28.72.

Bahrain's Tareq Taher finished second with a time of 8:39.62 and India's Naveen Kumar finished took bronze in 8:40.39.

20:51 There was plenty else happening around the ground this evening. A more muted roar goes up as North Korea equalise in the football semi-final against South Korea, while China has taken the first game of the badminton mixed doubles final against Indonesia. 

Zhang Nan and Zhou Yunlei, the reigning world and Olympic champions, winning it 21-16 in 24 minutes against 2013 world champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir. 

Incheon 2014 gold medal20:48 Two failures at 2.40m and the high jump is now over. Qatari Mutaz Essa Barsham retiring from his final attempt. So there will be no world record attempt, which is ever so slightly disappointing, but has defended his Asian Games title clearing a height of 2.35m, setting an Asian Games record in the process. So we shouldn't be too disappointed.

As we said earlier, China's Zhang Guowei win silver and Barsham's brother Muamer Aissa Barsham the bronze.

Maryan Jamal looking and composed en route to 1500m victory ©Getty Images

Incheon 2014 gold medal20:42 Back to the steeplechase in a moment, but Seema Punia's gold medal in the discus has now been confirmed. Her time of 61.03 is enough for victory, ahead of Chinese pair Lu Xiaoxin and Tan Jian.

A first gold medal in athletics for India!
 
20:36 Meanwhile, on the track we have just had the 4x100m relay heats, with South Korea and Japan the two heat winners. No Qatari team, which seems slightly strange considering their sprinting prowess. But the men's 3,000m steeplechase is underway, could that bring more success for the Gulf nation...Or will it have to be in the high jump?

20:34 But he has moved the bar up to 2.40m...

Qatar flag20:30 Barshim has just wrapped up gold tonight, although we will hold the gold medal icon for a moment. He's just cleared 2.35, an Asian Games record, to win ahead of Zhang Guowei of China and his younger brother, Muamer Aissa, who took silver and bronze respectively with clearances of 2.33 and 2.25.

20:24 In the men's high jump, there is only one man  expected to win tonight, and it is the biggest name in Asian sport, Mutaz Essa Barshim. The Qatari was a fingertip shy of Cuban Javier Sotomayer's 21-year-old record of 2.45 metres at the Brussels Diamond League earlier this month, reaching 2.43m

"My goal is to beat the world record," he told AFP ahead of the Games. "I'm completely ready for the Asian Games. I will do my best to make this great achievement and create memories for Asia."

He won gold for years ago in Guangzhou, before taking a bronze at the London 2012 Olympics. But since then he has come on leaps and bounds (sorry!) winning a silver medal behind Ukrainian rival Bodan Bondarenko at the 2013 World Championships, and taking five victories on the Diamond League circuit the last two years. 

Mutaz Essa Barshim competing at the Birmingham leg of the Diamond League earlier this summer ©Getty Images

20:19 There are two other  field events going on at the moment, the men's high jump and the women's discus. We will focus on the former in a moment, because it is one of the most highly anticipated events of the Games, but firstly the discus, and Seema Punia of India, runner-up at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this summer, is our leader. 

She was in the lead with 59.36, but has now reached 61.03m for the lead. Two rounds left. 

Incheon 2014 gold medal20:18 Over in the athletics, Indonesia's Maria Londa has taken gold in the women's long jump final with a jump of 6.55 meters. Vietnam's Thi Thu Thao Bui took silver with a jump of 6.44m, and China's Jiang Yanfei took bronze with a jump of 6.34m.

20:15 I won't use the South Korean flag again so soon, but cheers have just come up in the Media Centre as their women's football team take a 1-0 lead over North Korea in the semi-final. A free-kick from Jung Seolbin goes straight into the net, with a bit of help from some slightly dodgy goalkeeping...

Incheon 2014 gold medal20:10 In wrestling, a great day for Uzbekistan has just got even better as Rashid Kurbanov picks up the nation's fourth gold medal of the day. The 27-year-old has come a long way since his 11th place finish at the 2010 Asian Games, taking gold twice at the Asian Championships - in 2011 and 2013, as well as bronze in 2014 and bronze at the World Championships in 2013.

His victory this evening comes against Iran's 2013 World Championships silver medallist Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei in the 74kg contest with a 3-2 scoreline tipping in his favour.

Bronze here fell to South Korea's Sangjyu Lee and India's Narsingh Pancham Yadav.

China and South Korea to meet in table tennis final

Chinese flagSouth Korean flag20:04 More good news for China before we return to the table tennis. They have overcome Japan 3-0 in the semi-finals of the men's team event in table tennis. Xu Xin, Ma Long and Zhang Jike the three players to win matches. That is the world number one, two and three, so not a bad team.

They will face South Korea in the final, who overcame Taiwan 3-1, thanks in no small part to veteran defensive player, Joo Saehyuk, who won both his matches. Joo was runner-up to Austrian Werner Schlager at the 2003 World Championships, the last time incidentally, a Chinese player did not win the world singles title. I feel that run won't be changing for a while. 

Lin Dan wins badminton gold

Lin Dan celebrates badminton gold ©AFP/Getty Images

19:59 What a moment as Lin Dan, proves yet again, that he is one of the great players of all time. Two Olympic singles titles, five World Championships ones, and a fourth Asian Games gold, following a singles and team double in Guangzhou and the team title four years earlier in Doha. 

But it is the way he has performed with his back against the wall on so many occasions, winning when he has been written off, that makes him such a great. He has won this one the hard way, beating the world number one in the semi-final and then the world champion in the final. It was like the master and the apprentice today, and it was the master who came out on top. We will hopefully hear some quotes from him later, but there is also the mixed double to conclude the badminton programme later this evening.

It will be China versus Indonesia, each bidding for a third gold in the sport. 

Incheon 2014 gold medal19:56 A massive win for Lin Dan in the badminton as he beats compatriot and world champion Chen Long in the men's singles final.

The double Olympic champion and five-time world champion fell a set down to his team mate following a 21-12 opener. The defending champion hit straight back in the second, however, winning 21-16 to level the tie. The third set proved to the longest of the three as players battled for an edge. One came for Lin midway through the set as he powered to a 20-12 lead. Chen battled hard to keep his hopes of gold alive, pulling the score back to 20-16, before a smash from Lin tied up the victory.

A great display from two fine athletes but it was Lin who, again, came out on top at the crucial time.

Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari wins the first wrestling gold of the evening ©AFP/Getty Images

Al Garni wins second gold of the Games

Iraqi flag19:49 Iraqi medallist Almntfage, who won 800m silver four years ago in Guangzhou, has dual citizenship in Iraq and Sweden. He spends several months training in Sweden every year due to the conflict in Iraq, where he resides in Baghdad.

"I have a dual citizenship. I spend some months in Baghdad and some in Sweden. Although there are facilities available back home, I feel scared to venture out in Baghdad."

Incheon 2014 gold medal19:44 Qatar's Mohamad Al Garni wins gold in the men's 1500m ! He runs 3:40.23m to get the better of Bahrain's Rasheed Ramzi took silver. A great moment also as Iraq's Adnan Almntfage took bronze.

That's a second gold medal of the Games for the Qatari after his 5,000m victory two days ago. I hope this doesn't come out wrong, but I am quite glad that Ramzi, one of the most notorious drugs cheats of recent years, didn't win today. And wonderful to see an Iraqi athlete win a bronze medal. A superb example of an athlete despite problems back home. 

Chinese flag19:40 The men's race is up now. But we're locked at 1-1 between Lin Dan and Chen Long. The match is living up to its billing... Olympic champion against world champion, remember

Quote marks"I am happy to win this race again. My body was exhausted, but it came back in the last two hundred meters. My country has really supported me a lot in training me. I am looking forward to the 5,000m race." - Maryam Jamal after her second successful 1,500m title defence.

19:35 A brilliant performance by Jamal there. The two time world champion winning her fourth Asian Games title after sprinting away from her younger rival in a tactical race. Belete won the 5,000m title four years ago so was always less likely to have that big kick than her rival, very much a middle-distance specialist. 

Incheon 2014 gold medal19:31 Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal has won back to back golds in the 1500m with a time of 4:09.90s. Fellow Bahraini Mimi Belete got the silver, and bronze went to India's Jaisha Orchatteri Puthiya Veetil.

Japan celebrate scoring in the football ©Getty Images

Japanese flag19:24 A big result for Japan, meanwhile, as their women's team defeat Vietnam 3-0 to make the women's football semi-finals. In men's handball, South Korea have also just beaten Bahrain 27-23 to set up a final with Qatar. 

Bahrain will face Iran for bronze.

Incheon 2014 gold medal19:18 Iran's Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari of Iran has beaten Bajrang of India 6-4 to win gold in the men's 61kg freestyle wrestling event.

The reigning Asian champion took silver at the World Champonships in Tashkent earlier this year, and did well to hold off a late charge by the man he beat in the Asian Championships in Astana. Bronze medals were won by South Korea's Suengchul Lee and Japan's Noriyuji Takatsuka.

19:10 A couple of tantalising 1,500m races to come in a few moments time. In the women's race, it should be Bahrain versus Bahrain. Mimi Belete who ran 4:00.08 earlier this year, will pit her wits against defending champion Maryam Jamal, while on the men's side, the most recognisable name is another Bahraini of African origin, Rashid Ramzi.

So more medals for Bahrain is the conclusion of that preview. 

The Moroccan born Ramzi won this event 12 years ago in Busan and then won the 800m and 1,500m double at the 2005 World Championships. But he is best for initially winning the Beijing 2008 Olympic title before testing positive for banned substance CERA, and being stripped of his title. He has since served his ban and will be competing in a few minutes time. 

Uzbek wins gold in women's heptathlon

Quote marks"Very very happy this was exciting. My next goal is that i will go to Olympics. I hope to do well there. I did 100 percent really well today." - Ekaterina Voronina following her heptathlon gold. 

Uzbekistan flag19:03 We've spoken about what a day Kazakhstan have had but what about their central Asian neghbours. It was only two days ago they won their first gold, but today that have won three more. Two earlier in canoeing, and now one in athletics, plus a bronze as well...

Ekaterina Voronina celebrated gold along with compatriot Yuliya Tarasova ©Getty Images
Incheon 2014 gold medal18:56 That means...Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina wins gold in the women's heptathlon! Her total of 5912 points comfortably overcomes China's Wang Qingling, who earns silver with 5856 points. Another Uzbek, Yuliya Tarasova, earned bronze with 5482 points.

18:53 A brave run by Voronina of Uzbekistan, who hangs on to take the 800m in 2:21.21 ahead of Susmita Singha Roy of India.

18:45 The first heat of the women's 800m heptathlon final has drawn to a close as Tajikistan's Kristina Pronzhenko crosses the line first. Her time of 2:21.30 is a good one but the result will have little influence on the medals, with the athlete sat at the foot of the leaderboard. 

Iran's Sepideh Tavakoly Nik finishes in second with four seconds behind the leader, but he too will have no chance to grab a medal.

The second heat is just about to begin with the leaders all ready to race. It's a tight tussle a the top for gold with Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking a slender lead after the javelin.

She is only just ahead of China's Wang Qingling who dropped into second following a disappointing throw.

18:40 We're also underway in the men's badminton final where double Olympic champion Lin Dan faces world champion Chen Long.

This final ought to be a tasty encounter as two of China's best badminton players go head to head for the ultimate prize in Asian badminton.

Athletics action underway at the Main Stadium

18:35 We're underway in the athletics at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. First up on the field is the men's high jump final while on the track it's the final event of the women's heptathlon - the 800m.

18:29 Qatar's handball team have booked a spot in the final of the men's competition after a convincing 29-21 victory over Iran.

Busy as they always are on the social medial, the Qatar Olympic Team twitter feed was quick to release this vine of the team's celebrations. A great win for the Qatari's who are having a brilliant last few days.




Quote marks"We did our best to win.We'll have to do our best as we face South Korea. As South Korea is the strongest team among all participants of the Asian games, we should cooperate more. Every one of the players is very skillful. In order to beat them we should have good teamwork like them." - Chinese hockey captain Cui Qiuxia on the team's win against Japan. I think you're a tad ahead of yourself there Cui, South Korea have still got to beat India before you meet them in the final...

18:20 China have just recorded a 1-0 victory against Japan in a tightly contests women's hockey semi-final. It took until the fourth quarter for Wang Mengyu to break the deadlock in a brilliantly tense fixture at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium.
 
They will now play the winner of the South Korea/India match, up next... The hosts will be strong favourites to progress to the final in this one.

China have won the women's hockey title at the last three Asian Games, with Korea lifting the trophy four consecutive times beforehand.

Tennis gold for South Korea

Incheon 2014 gold medal18:11 Hyeon Ching and Yongkyu Lim have wrapped up gold in the men's tennis doubles as they win the tiebreak 7-2 to defeat India's Saketh Sai Myneni and Sanam Krishan Singh in straight sets.

18:05 We're into the semi-finals of the men's table tennis team competition where China and Japan, and Taiwan and South Korea, are battling for a place in the final.

China are 2-0 up in their encounter with Japan with Ma Long winning in straights games against Kenta Matsudaira, before Xu Xin beat Jun Mizutani 3-1.

South Korea are tied 1 apiece in their fixture with Taiwan after Saehyuk Joo gave the hosts the lead, only for Chuang Chih Yuan to level it up.

17:59 Following their success on the cricket pitch, South Korea are on course for just their second gold medal of the day as Hyeon Ching and Yongkyu Lim close in on victory in the men's tennis doubles final.

The duo snatched a 7-5 opening set from India's Saketh Sai Myneni and Sanam Krishan Singh, and have moved into a tiebreaker for the match.

The rain continues to fall in that match, but the players are battling on. Not for much long though, it seems.

South Korea's Lim Yongkyu and Chung Hyeon sit under umbrellas as rain falls during their mens doubles final tennis match against India's Saketh Sai Myneni and Sanam Krishan Singh ©Getty Images


Philip Barker
17:53 Sticking with the cricket for a minute and our trusty source on all things sport, Philip Barker, has thrown us a wonderful stat from back in England...

According to the man himself, Japan played at Lord's for the first time in 2013 and Hong Kong China were at Lords this summer.

Philip would know, of course, being a tour guide at the historic cricketing ground. He has also written a book on the ground, which you can see here...

17:46 There it is! This time it's a good ball. Some dodgy fielding still enables China to close to 82-7 but it wasn't enough to catch the Koreans. Great win and a great match. 

17:43 Ohhh wait. That's not a great way to see out a match... Kim bowls wide and gives away a boundary on the final ball of the ninth over. Still hope here for China? It's 79-7.

17:40 South Korea are about to win their final cricket group stage match against China as Kyungsik Kim gets set to bowl the last ball with China at 75-7.

The Chinese have a had a good go at penetrating the impressive scoreline left by the South Korea, but unfortunately look like falling short.

Incheon 2014 gold medal17:24 Back to the diving and there's a second gold medal for..... You guessed it China!

Chen Aisen and Zhang Yanquan are the men to do it as they seal synchronised 10m platform gold with a score of 462.90.

South Korea come in second with a respectable 403.50 from Yeongnam Kim and Haram Woo while Malaysia's Yiwei Chew and Tze Liang Oii finish third on 384.90.

Nick Butler"I agree that this cricket match, being played in front of virtually no one over at the Yeonhui Cricket Ground is one of the highlights of the Games so far. Fantastic effort by South Korea to hit 88 in 10 overs, and the dressing room is a picture of unbridalled joy. Some unorthadox shots, including several players holding the bat straight out to the side, baseball style, as the bowler approaches, which isn't surprising considering they are all former baseball players recruited to play in these Games. Fantastically enthusiastic fielding also from the Chinese, who haven't grasped the danger of hurling the ball as hard as they can at the stumps from 10m away when noone is backing up. But they then make up for several sloppy overthrows with a smart stumping, that is wildly celebrated, with plenty of fist-pumping and back-slapping. Their batsman are out and the run-chase has begun. They have a mountain to climb, with 89 to win in 10 overs in this rain-reduced match, meaning the run-rate is 8.9 an over. Still, anything can happen in cricket..."
- Reporter Nick Butler is thoroughly enjoying the cricket match ongoing at the Yeonhui Cricket Ground at the minute.

Bowling update

17:10 We've talked very little about the bowling today so, obviously, it is time to correct that.

After the first block of the men's team of five contest, South Korea sit narrowly ahead following a total score of 3156. Jongwoo Park led the scoring for the hosts as he posted totals of 241, 223 and 202 for an average pinfall of 222.0. 

Indonesia are right on their heels, however, as they sit just 79 behind on 3077. Islam Billy Muhammad has been an integral part of the team's success as he posted a superb average of 236, which included a match high 276.

Hong Kong round off the top three with a total score of 3055 after Yeung Wai Ki's leading average of 214.00.

China continue Asian Games diving dominance 

17:01 That Chinese gold may have been the most "guaranteed" (if you can call it that) of the Games so far, apart from possibly Japanese wrestler Saori Yoshida's.

The reason? Well, since their introduction into the Games in 1974, when they replaced the Republic of China, better known as Taiwan or Chinese Taipei, the People's Republic of China, the one now known simply as China by most of the world, have won gold in every single diving event on offer at the Games.

That totals a whopping 60 of 60 gold medals in 40 years of competing at the Asian Games.  

Incheon 2014 gold medal16:55 We have our first gold medal of the diving here at the Asian Games and, unsurprisingly, it has been won by an athlete from China. 

Make that two athletes from China as Shi Tingmao and Wu Minxia take top honours in the women's synchronised 3m springboard final with a score of 318.60 points. 

That is 30.90 ahead of Malaysia's Jun Hoong Cheong and Yan Yee Ng in second and 44.28 clear of North Korea's Ungyong Choe and Jinok Kim, who seal the bronze.

Shi Tingmao and Wu Minxia win gold in the women's synchronised 3m springboard ©Getty Images

A small(ish) dose of cricket news...

Twitter logoHatrick for Chinese bowler Zhong Wenyi. Well done! #AsianGames2014 #Cricket - Indian cricket fan Sampath is also enjoying the match. It looks like we weren't the only ones watching the match after all...

16:43 A baseball-like stance from one of Koreans batsman adds a couple of additional runs with South Korea finishing on 88 for five.

This stance may be natural for the South Korean with the men's team banking on on professional baseball stars to convert home runs into sixes and boundaries at the Twenty20 competition in the Asian Games.

As many as seven of the 11 men that played in their eight wicket defeat to Malaysia on Saturday (September 27) came from baseball, which is a major passion here. 

Their cricket team, on the other hand, was assembled especially for the Games less than two years ago. Some took to the sport just six months ago. South Korea wanted cricket taken off the Games programme as it knew nothing about it. The Olympic Council of Asia had to step in apparently to remind the organisers that it was a popular sport across the continent.

16:35 Nick and I once again find ourselves out of favour with the majority of journalists here in the newsroom as we flick the television over to the cricket.

South Korea and China are the two teams doing battle over at the Yeonhui Cricket Ground as we come to the final group match of the men's contest. The earlier match was, of course, decided by a coin toss as we so thoroughly covered earlier in the blog...

I have to say, this match maybe my highlight of the Games so far as Korea take to the bat first. A rather meaty 85-5 is the scoreline in one of the biggest "slugger" matches I've ever seen in the sport. Daesik Sung has led the main Korean charge after hitting 33 off just 16 balls before being stumped. 

The Korean's were firmly in charge at 83 for two but have seen three wickets fall in three balls.

This was slightly expected after the game was reduced to just 10 overs due to the wet conditions.

The third wicket fall was met with huge jubilation from Chinese spin bowler Zhong Wenyi who sealed a hattrick to stop Korea recording an impregnable score. 

Final Canoe/Kayak sprint gold

Incheon 2014 gold medal16:26 Kazakhstan have picked up the final gold medal at the Hanam Misari Canoe/Kayak Center!

Silver and bronze medallists from the 2010 Games, Natalya Sergeyeva and Irina Podoinikova, team up here to seal Kazakhstan's fifth gold medal in the water today.

Silver goes to Ren Wenjun and Ma Qing of China who led after the first 250, only to be caught and fall 0.599 behind the leaders.

Japan were well clear in third as they finished a little over two seconds behind the winners. Asumi Ohmura and  Shiho Kakizaki did the honours for the Japanese.

Cycling update

16:21 We've got some cycling news to bring you now as information begins to feed back from the road.

It turns out that 22 of the 23 riders finished on the exact same time of 3:39:33 with Thailand's Jutapip Maneephan edging the sprint.

In all honesty, it doesn't look like any of the field really attacked this race with splits being similar across the board.

Photo finish of the women's cycling road race ©Incheon2014

Incheon 2014 gold medal16:10 China have added more gold in the water as Zong Meng and Chu Youyong claim the K2 200m men's title.

The pair outperformed Thailand's Aditep Srichart and  Kasemsit Borriboonwasin to secure the victory while Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Alexeyev and Alexey Dergunov rounded off the podium in third.

Incheon 2014 gold medal16:03 Thailand's Jutapip Maneephan has won the gold medal in women's cycling road race, we are hearing. More information to come but Vietnam's Nguyen Thi That took silver, while bronze went to Hsiao Mei Yu of Taiwan.

Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko of Kazakhstan celebrate en route to beach volleyball gold ©Getty Images

Incheon 2014 gold medal15:55 Kazakhstan win the second set to take a 2-0 victory in the men's beach volleyball final. Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko taking a straightforward 21-15, 21-10 victory over Chen Cheng and Li Jian. A great day for Kazakhstan continues, and China have to be content with silver and bronze, along with over 200 other medals, of course...

15:49 Into the closing stages of the cycling now, with a few riders still in contention. We will bring you the result in a moment. But another gold medal to bring you first.

Kuwait flag15:44 After their cricket "win" earlier (see 13:53-14:22), Kuwait have enjoyed more success, after beating fellow Gulf nation Oman in a 30-28 thriller in the men's handball fifth place. 

Incheon 2014 gold medal15:35 But another has slipped away, as Li Qiang from China wins the gold medal in the C1 200m after a tight race. Bronze medalist four years ago in Guangzhou, Naoya Sakamoto from Japan took silver, and Iran's Adel Mojallalimoghadam the bronze.

Canoe sprint and beach volleyball finals on day 10

Kazakhstan flag15:29 First blood went to Kazakhstan in the beach volleyball final, as Dyachenko and Sidorenko win the first set against China 21-15 in 18 minutes. The second has now begun...

Interestingly Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world that first competed at the Asian Games in 1994 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, has never finished outside of the top five in the medal table.

Sprint paddler Konstantin Negodyayev is the only Kazakh athlete to win five gold medals. At both the Hiroshima 1994 and Bangkok 1998 Games he won the C2 500m and C2 1000m, and also won the C1 500m in 1994, so it's no surprise to see them dominating that sport today. 

Shooter Olga Dovgun won 11 medals in total between 1998 and 2010, a total that is only bettered by two other female athletes. Her haul includes two gold, four silver and five bronze medals.

Incheon 2014 gold medal15:25 Cho Gwang-hee from South Korea wins the gold medal with a big lead in men's K1 200m race, in 35.464 seconds. And a big lead in the 200 kayak sprint race is quite some achievement. Uzbekistan's Ernest Irnazarov placed second in 36.531, followed by Japan's Seiji Komatsu.

Beach volleyball bronze medal match ©AFP/Getty Images
15:18 The men's beach volleyball final in underway. Jiang Halike and Bao Jian have taken Chinese bronze already this afternoon after beating Indonesia opponents 2-0 in the third place playoff. It's China versus Kazakhstan in the final, the two canoeing powerhouses going head to head on the sand as well as in the water...

And it's Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko who lead in the first game against Chen Cheng and Li Jian of China at the moment. Early stages though.

Incheon 2014 gold medal15:13 Back in the canoeing, and Inna Klinova has won gold for Kazakhstan in the K1 200m. The central Asian nation are paddling their way to guaranteed fourth place on the overall medals table this afternoon. 

Her time of 40.638 edges out 500m winner Zhou Yu of China, while Arezou Hakimimoghaddam of Iran takes bronze.

Low ticket sales at Incheon 2014

15:07 Interestingly, I have just been talking to a local reporter, who believes the Games have done little to benefit the local area in the long-term. He is very keen to test my knowledge of Incheon and to ask me where I want to go in the city other than the venues. "Well...," I say, desperately thinking for inspiration. "I'm interested in history, so anything about the Korean War I would like to go to."

At this his face lights up, as he tells me about the Ganghwa Peace Observatory, located around an hour away, handing me an Incheon 2014 handbook about the city. A journalist masquerading as a member of the local tourist board I see... Although I would be fascinating to go there if I did have an opportunity. 

15:02 There have been a lot of comments about empty seats here at the Games, and Incheon 2014 have been defending the success of their ticket selling policies this morning. 

Quote marks"There are about 62,000 seats. The paid spectators were a little over 30,000. The tickets are pricey, and people have difficulty in buying these tickets. I would like to make a comparison, at the Guangzhou Games, the tickets were more expensive. We knew there would be a lot of free seats in the stands. IAGOC and Incheon City Hall consulted and decided there will be people who made a lot of effort for the AG and the tickets should be given to them. We prioritised supporters who devoted a lot of time and effort. I think the same situations could happen at the Closing Ceremony, so the O.C will consult with Incheon City Hall, and if there are empty seats we will give out tickets again to those who dedicated their time and effort." - Incheon 2014 deputy secretary general, Lee Il-hee, when asked about ticket sales...

Empty seats at the athletics ©AFP/Getty Images

14:53 Into the concluding stages of the road race now, and we will bring you results as soon as we have it. But at 15:00 we have the resumption of canoeing finals and the men's beach volleyball final...

Chinese success and another coin toss in the cricket?

Rain image14:45 More problems however for the Chinese in cricket, where their match against South Korea has been delayed as the rain continues. Just to remind you, if the weather clears a little, only five overs are needed to make a match. If that is not possible, China and South Korea will play one Super Over each. And if the weather is so bad that even this is not possible, the result will be decided by a coin toss.

14:38 Chinese success also in softball, after a 9:2 win over Thailand in today's women's softball preliminary match 10, giving them their third win in four matches. After easily taking the lead with three runs in the first innings, China soon added one more to their tally.

Thailand was chasing China all the way and their two third innings runs did little to stem the tide with China adding five more runs in the fifth bringing the score to 9:2. With the game called, China finished with 7 hits and 9 runs with 1 home steal. Thailand settled with 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 errors.

Chinese flag14:31 Back to the sport, and a few results to bring you up to date with. China's Zhang Fan shot a perfect 75 points to take the lead in the men's skeet shooting after day one of qualification at the Gyeonggido Shooting Range today. Jin Di of China placed second with a 74, while countryman Xu Ying trailed him by just one point. The final day of shooting medals tomorrow then is clearly going to produce more Chinese success. 

Coin tosses in sport? Fact or myth?

The pole vault podium at the Asian Games. Earle Meadows, Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe ©Getty Images

14:22 Now in the Olympics, there is a reported example from way back in Berlin 1936. In the pole vault, a US vaulter named Earle Meadows won the gold medal. The two who came in tied second and third were Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe, both of Japan, and according to several sources, when they came refused to jump-off against each other, Nishida was awarded silver after a jump-off. But other sources say this was not in fact the case, and that Nishida was chosen as winner by Japanese officials, by virtue of having less failures at lower heights, i.e. the same system used today in the case of a tie.  

But neither vaulters were completely satisfied with the results. Being such good friends, when they arrived in Japan, they reportedly went to a local jeweler and had their gold and silver medals cut in half. They then paid the jeweler to solder one half of each into a pair of mixed medals, thus giving them equal halves of bronze and silver. 

No wonder their two medals became known around the world as the "Medals of Eternal Friendship".

Portland owes its name to a coin toss ©Wikipedia

14:16 It seems to have happened a few time in football, as early as 1954 when Spain missed out on the World Cup after a 2:2 tie in a play-off match with Turkey. I wonder what the likes of Xavi, Ramos and Iniesta would say if that happened today... A reason to defend a penalty shootout maybe, the next team someone calls for that to be removed. 

Beyond the world of sport, in 1845 the naming of the city of Portland, Oregon was decided by a coin toss.. Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove, who owned the claim to the land that would later become Portland, each wanted to name their new town after their respective hometowns of Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine. Pettygrove prevailed in the coin flip, and the town was named Portland.

14:10 A break in the canoeing now until the next batch of finals get underway at 15:00. It gives a bit more time to reflect on the remarkable incident a few moments ago that saw a cricket match decided by a coin toss. 

Syrian flag14:02 The whole field is still together in the road race as they go through the third lap marker in a few seconds shy of two hours. In the lead by a tyre width is Seba Alraai of Syria. She finished 10th in the time trial two days ago so she is a strong rider, but what a story it would be if she could take the first Syrian medal of the Games. 

Cyclists competing in the pouring rain in the road race ©Getty Images

Kuwait beat Maldives in cricket...by the toss of a coin!

13:53 It's been a funny old tournament for Kuwait, that is sure. They managed a total of 20 all out in 14 overs against Nepal, leading to their opponents winning with 103 balls to spare! Now they have won, with, well, 240 balls to spare, because not a single one was bowled. They are through to face Bangladesh in the next match. To be perfectly honest, I am slightly worried for them there...

But it's the Maldives who deserve sympathy right now. 

Quote marks"This is the first-ever coin toss I've ever had to decide...I called heads and the umpire flipped the coin." - Kuwaiti captain Mahmoud Bastaki after a victory over the strangest of victories over Maldives. Scroll down to 12:55 to 13:04 for more on sporting matches decided by a coin toss

Kuwait flag13:46 Meanwhile, some big news in the cricket. With the rain ending any chance of play, between Kuwait and the Maldives at Yeonhui Cricket Ground, the game was instead decided on the umpire's toss of a coin with Kuwait calling 'heads' to win the toss, and the game.

More success on the water for Kazakhstan

Incheon 2014 gold medal13:40 Another gold to report, as the rain still falls, in canoeing, and Ilya Goldenov, Daulet Sultanbekov, Andrey Yerguchayov and Alexandr Yemelyanov have won the men's K4 1,000m race, by four seconds ahead of China and Uzbekistan. 

The eagle eyed among you will have noticed the name Yemelyanov for the fourth time this morning. We're not sure yet if he is related to Sergey, Mikhail and Timofey, but we will try and find out...

Bangladesh flag13:34 Of course, indoor sports are still taking place here on day nine, and Bangladesh defeated the South Korean team 30-17 in women's kabaddi today at Songdo Global University Gymnasium. South Korea was unable to turn the game around after Bangladesh took the lead, 14-11, in the first half before Bangladesh went on to win the second half 16-7, giving them the game.

13:25 A quick cycling update, with almost an hour and a half gone. After two laps, the entire 23 woman field are still together. A bit disappointing that there are so few riders in this race. Solongo Tserenlkham of Mongolia leads the peloton through two laps.

China battling with Central Asia in canoeing

13:19 Just a reminder of the principal difference between K (kayaking) events and C (canoeing) ones. Kayaking involves a double bladed oar while the canoe just a single blade. So the picture on the left here is kayaking, the slightly faster of the two, while canoeing is on the right. 

Yevgeniy Alexeyev and Alexey Dergunov in the K2 1,000m canoe sprint ©Getty ImagesZheng Pengfei and Wang Riwei in the C2 1000m canoe sprint ©Getty Images

Incheon 2014 gold medal13:13 Of course, the difference here is that sport is going on, and the canoeing has resumed after a slight delay. Typically, after my comments on Chinese struggles, they win the next race. Ren Wenjun, Huang Jieyi, Ma Qing and Liu Haiping crossing the line first in the K4 500m sprint. 

South Korea and Kazakhstan take the two minor medals. 

13:08 Of course, going back to rain, the frequent breaks in sports like cricket presents an extra challenge for the commentators, who have to fill the gaps by talking when nothing is going on. Fairly similar, to posting unrelated YouTube videos about European football on a blog on the Asian Games then...

Coin tossing in sport

13:04 Something to keep you entertained in the rain...Some highlights - no coin toss included, unfortunately - of that match. Some great goalkeeping here by Lev Yashin, considered by some the greatest keeper in the history of the game. Italy went on to beat Yugoslavia in the final...



Coin tossing in sport12:59 There have also been other cases of sports matches being decided by the toss of a coin. Most famously, In the 1968 European Football Championships, the semi-final between Italy and the Soviet Union finished 0-0 after extra-time. Penalty shoot-outs had not been invented and it was decided to toss a coin to see who reached the final, rather than play a replay. Italy won, and went on to become European champions.

12:55 Rain is, of course, a big part of the game of cricket, to the extent there is a system place for dealing with the rain (see 17:15 on our day seven live blog, on the Duckworth Lewis Method). In five day "Test-matches", many a side has scraped a lucky draw due to rain washing out several days of play.

Incidentally, coin tossing, which we mentioned earlier as a way in which this match the Kuwait/Maldives clash could be decided, is also a key part of the game, as the two captains toss a coin at the start of each match, with the winner deciding weather to bat or field first. And this is where the game gets technical, because the pitch, the conditions and how those are expected to change throughout the course of the contest, plays a key role... In August 2001, Nasser Hussain, the England captain at the time, lost the toss for the 14th successive time.

Rain image12:48 The weather, however, is getting the better of everyone, as there now seems to be another delay...

Central Asia getting the better of China in canoeing

12:43 Another example of a big name in the sport is Zhou Yu, who, in equally heartbreaking fashion, also finished fourth at London 2012, in the K2 500m on that occasion.