2018 Asian Games Update: Caspian Region Athletes Grab 94 Medals

After 10 days into the XVIII Asian Games taking place in Indonesia, athletes from the Caspian region have won over 90 medals.

As of Tuesday, Iran topped the list with 47 medals. Nearly 360 Iranian athletes are competing in this year’s games, and already they’ve clinched 17 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze medals in events like wrestling, wushu, karate, taekwondo and weightlifting.

Iranian runner Hossein Keyhani won his country’s 17th gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event, according to reports by Tasnim News Agency. The 28 year old athlete passed the finish line in eight minutes and 22.79 seconds, setting a new record for the Asian Games. Keyhani had previously won gold in the 2017 Asian Games, held in India.

Turkmenistan’s national team, which is comprised of 62 athletes this year, has won three medals so far, including one silver and two bronze. Athletes have competed in weightlifting, ju-jitsu and wrestling.

With nearly 450 athletes participating, Kazakhstan's team has already clinched 45 medals. Athletes are competing in 25 sports categories including karate, fencing, swimming and rhythmic gymnastics.

Rhythmic gymnasts have brought Kazakhstan two gold medals. Alina Adilkhanova, Dayana Abdirbekova and Adilya Tlekenova triumphed in the team all-around event, gaining 159.859 points. Uzbekistan ranked second with (155,300) while South Korea took bronze (151,100).

Alina Adilkhanova, aged 16, took the other gold while performing in the individual all-around event. Following four performances, the gymnast gained 66.800 points and outpaced her counterpart from Uzbekistan, Sabina Tashkenbaeva, while the bronze went to the Chinese athlete Yating Zhao.

“We tried all our best for the country. We have been going for this victory for a long time and we were determined to win. This is just the beginning. There is still a lot of work and performances ahead,” Adilkhanova said Tuesday, according to reports by Sports.kz.

Meanwhile, Adilkhanova has become the new leader of the national team after Sabina Ashirbayeva, a participant in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, failed the test for doping control. In 2017, three banned drugs were found in her analyzes: furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide and chlorothiazide. She can return to the sport in 2020.