Sun Yang wins 400 metres freestyle gold as China fight back
Bling king leads his country's resurgence in the pool after early Japanese domination, beating Korean rival Park Tae-hwan who collected bronze
China's swim king Sun Yang demonstrated the power and composure to match his flashy posturing as the Olympic champion captured Asian Games gold in the 400 metres freestyle.
The manner of victory mirrored China's relentless fightback after playing second fiddle to Japan over the first two days of the swimming competition, while also underlining Sun's status as the world's premier long-distance swimmer.
"Not only did I get a gold medal but six of our team won gold medals today," said Sun, looking at the bigger picture after China opened a lead of 11-7 in golds over Japan. "I'm very excited to win a gold tonight."
This meet is not just about me and Park ... We do can a lot together for world swimming, not just Asian swimming
The controversial Sun blamed a thumb injury for his shock loss to Japan's Kosuke Hagino in Sunday's 200m final, the Chinese giant pulling out of a relay the next day to focus on exacting swift revenge - which he did in style, despite his sore digit.
His triple-header with local hero Park Tae-hwan had been billed as the hottest tickets of the Asian Games in South Korea, their third meeting to come in the 1,500m - where Sun is also the Olympic champion and world record holder.
Sun got inside Park's head before the Games even began, however, appearing in Chinese television commercials poking fun at his rival and betting him a slap-up barbecue meal he would crush him in Incheon.
Former Olympic gold medallist Park took bronze in Tuesday's 400m, as he had in the 200m, and looked a broken man, battling to raise a smile when Sun gave him a bearhug on the podium.
