China marks 100th gold in AWG history as S. Korea claims 1st gold of Harbin 2025

South Korea won the short track speed skating 2,000m mixed team relay to take the first gold medal of the 2025 Asian Winter Games on Saturday, while Li Lei took China's historic 100th gold in the Games' history by triumphing in the cross-country skiing women's sprint classic final.

Anticipation was high in the Heilongjiang Ice Sports Center, as host China was among the four 2,000m mixed team relay final contenders for the Games' first gold medal. There was a winning sign for China until the last two laps when Lin Xiaojun tumbled off the ice on the curve right after taking over the lead from Liu Shaoang.

China eventually finished fourth, while South Korea clocked two minutes and 41.534 seconds to cross the finish line first.

Within two hours, Lin stepped on the men's 1,500m final track with high hopes. In a nail-biting sprint, Lin finished 0.029 seconds behind to settle for second place, while Park Ji-won of South Korea claimed gold in two minutes and 16.927 seconds.

It didn't take long for Lin to bounce back, as the 28-year-old broke through under pressure from South Korean skaters in the men's 500m final, clocking 41.150 seconds to take the gold. South Korea's Park and Jang Sung-woo took the silver and bronze respectively.

In other short-track speed skating races, Kim Gil-li of South Korea won the women's 1,500m final, with China's Gong Li and Zang Yize taking silver and bronze respectively. Choi Min-jeong of South Korea pocketed the women's 500m gold.

China took three of four speed skating gold medals on Saturday. Ning Zhongyan, one of the Chinese delegation's flagbearers at the opening ceremony, won the men's 1,500m race, while Chinese skaters swept the women's 1,500m podium, with Han Mei bagging the gold. China's Olympic champion Gao Tingyu took the men's 100m gold, while Lee Na-hyun of South Korea won the women's 100m race.

Several Chinese skiers put on remarkable performances on snow at the Yabuli Ski Resort.

Li Fanghui secured the host nation's first gold medal at the Harbin Games, triumphing in the women's freeski halfpipe event. The 21-year-old led the competition with a score of 95.25 points, with compatriot Zhang Kexin claiming silver with 89.25.

For the men's freeski halfpipe, Lee Seung-hun of South Korea took the gold on his last run of 97.50 points, and China's Sheng Haipeng finished second.

China dominated in the women's cross-country skiing sprint classic, with all four competitors advancing to the final. Veteran Li achieved victory in three minutes and 25.25 seconds, marking China's 100th gold medal in Asian Winter Games history. Her teammate Meng Honglian secured the silver in 3:25.91, while another Chinese Dinigeer Yilamujiang took the bronze.

In the men's sprint classic event, China's Wang Qiang finished the final with a time of 2:56.19 to secure the gold. Kazakhstan's Konstantin Bortsov took the silver, while Wang's teammate Saimuhaer Sailike claimed the bronze.

A near-flawless final run saw 18-year-old Zhang Xiaonan score 95.25 to clinch the gold for China in the women's snowboard slopestyle. China's Xiong Shirui secured the silver with 75.25 points, while 15-year-old Japanese Himari Ishii took bronze with a score of 69.50.

Lee Chae-un of South Korea won the men's snowboard slopestyle, followed by China's Liu Haoyu. Lee's teammate Kang Dong-hun finished third.

Also on Saturday, Japan claimed victory in the curling mixed doubles, while South Korea and China finished second and third, respectively.

China leads the medal table after Saturday's competitions with eight golds, eight silvers, and five bronzes, followed by South Korea on 7-5-7 and Japan on 2-1-4.