China's Li breaks women's pole vault AR at Asian Athletcis Championships

China's reigning Asian Games champion Li Ling renewed the Asian record of women's pole vault at the Asian Athletcis Championships here on Saturday.

Li, winner of the event at 2014 IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech, rewrote the old 4.65-meter AR, which was created by herself at the 2013 National Games, to 4.66 meters. Li's teammate Xu Huiqin took second in 4.30, while Japanese Tomomi Abiko was third in 4.20.

"I was in good form today," she said. "I just want to use my skills and perform my level. The result will make me feel more confident in future training and competition. The training is hard, but a new height makes all the effort paid off."

Though it took Li about two years to break her own Asian record ,she said the new record was expected.

"I thought I could break it again when I broke the AR in the first time," she said. "I just didn't know the height. I didn't think too much during the competition, and I just wanted to jump higher."

Li hopes she can do better at the upcoming World Championships in August.

"If I keep my form and training well, I think I can make a better result at the Worlds," she said. "China's best result for pole vault in the Worlds is fifth place, and I hope I can make a better finish."

Bahrain claimed three gold medals on Saturday. Oluwakemi Adekoya, winner of the women's 400m and 400m hurdles at the Asian Games last year, dominated the hurdles event with a 54.31-second personal best, also the national record and competition record. Japan's Manami Kira took second in 57.14, while China's Xiao Xia third in 57.69.

"I took this competition as part of my training to prepare for the World Championships. My goal is to have a podium finish in Beijing," said the winner.

Bahrain's John Koech won the men's 3,000m steepchast in 8:27.03, trailed by Qatar's Hashim Mohamed who timed 8:36.02 and Evans Chematot, also comes from Bahrain,who finished in 8:42.76.

The men's 10,000m title was also clinched by Bahrain's runner as Elhassan Elabbassi finished first in 28:50.71. India's Govindan Lakshmanan took second in 29:42.81, while Uzbekistan's Andrey Petrov third with 30:20.68.

"It is not easy for me because I competed in the Diamond League Eugene (finishing 7th in 27:25.02) and I felt tired today," said Elabbassi.

India's Babar Lalita topped the women's 3,000m steepchast in 9:34.13, a competition record. China's Li Zhenzhu and Zhang Xinyan took second and third with 9:41.43 and 9:46.82 respectively, both surpassed the old CR of 9:52.42.

India also won the men's discus throw as Gowda Vikas topped the event with 62.03 meters.

The men's 400m hurdles was dominated by Japan's Yuta Konishi, who claimed an early lead and timed 49.58 seconds to win the event. Chen Chieh of Chinese Taipei trailed in 49.68, while Japan's Kazuaki Yoshida came third in 49.95.

In the men's triple jump, South Korean Kim Deokhyeon won with 16.86 meters, while China's Cao Shuo took second in 16.77 and Kazakhstan's Roman Valiyev ranked third in 16.67.

Chinese Taipei also pocketed a gold medal as Huang Shih-Feng won the men's javelin throw with 79.74 meters.

In the men's 200m semifinal, Qatar's sprinter Femi Ogunode, who broke the men's 100m Asian record on Thursday, led the 200m semis with a competition record 20.28-second. Endi