Undefeated wushu star Yuan Xiaochao overcame jittery nerves and injuries to clinch the first gold medal of the 16th Asian Games in the men's changquan form on Saturday for China, living up to the honor of the host nation as the founder of the sport.

The defending champion Yuan, 22, impressed the judges and more than audiences, with his signature whirling kicks, lightning punches and acrobatic somersaults to snatch the gold medal with 9.78 points.

Japan's Daisuke Ichikizaki took the silver at 9.72 and Iran's Ehsan Peyghambari claimed the bronze at 9.70 points.

Up till his name was announced during the medal awarding ceremony, smiles finally spread on the stern face of the young man, who had been under of the tremendous pressure to retain his title and so give the hosts an ideal start in their quest to top the medal table again.

But his usual serious look returned soon even when he was on the podium, receiving his gold medal from the State Councilor Liu Yandong, who was among the crowd at the Nansha Gymnasium.

"I seldom show my feelings. That's me. In fact, I'm thrilling deep down in my heart, right now," Yuan told the press.

China aims to dominate the Asiad medal table for the eighth consecutive time as its largest-ever squad is sent to compete in all 42 sports but kabbadi. While, another two Asian sports powerhouses Japan and South Korea will compete for the second place.

In the thundering cheers from the crowd, short-haired Yuan, in a scarlet satin uniform, presented an almost-perfect set except an unsteady landing following a leg-split.

"I got my legs injured during the training a couple of months ago, which did affect my performances today," said Yuan. "In a competition like changquan, it's hard to make no mistakes. Fortunatley, the result doesn't rely on one shot. I managed to made it up later."

Gao Xiaojun, director of Wushu Management Center in the General Administration of Sport of China, hailed for the "unperfect" success of Yuan and hoped the winning would promote the sport across the world.

"I had been hoping Xiaochao can win the medal without stains, because he has the capability. It's definitely he is suffering from the injuries and the huge pressure," Gao told Xinhua, adding they covered up Yuan's injury from public in a bid to "prevent Xiaochao from getting more stressed."

"The first medal means a lot to Xiaochao, to China and also the sport of wushu, because the Asian Games is an important platform to promote the sport," he said.

For Yuan, who is nicknamed "little superman" by fans following the pronunciation of his given name, Saturday's winning also means carrying on the gold glory of his family at the Asiad, as his uncle Yuan Xindong, now his coach, was crowned at the same event in Busan Asiad in 2002.

Born to an old renown martial art family in east China's Shandong Province, Yuan started professional training when he was 10.

However, to prepare Saturday's competition whole-heartedly, Yuan even turned off his cell phone to screen the "disturbances" from "the outside", including his family members.

"But now, I want to share this honor with my beloved families, who are always supportive and caring," said Yuan."I know my parents must be watching through the live broadcast, and I want to say to them 'Dad and mom, may you be healthy'."

The silver medal went to Japanese Ichikizaki, who is also a friend of Yuan. The 23-year-old from Osaka won the bronze medal in changquan at the Toronto World Championships in 2009.

Ichikizaki devoted his medal especially to his Chinese coach Sun Jianming.

"I would like to thank my coach first. My success won't be possible without him. But I would like to say 'thanks' to my friends and families, the passionate spectators and volunteers," he said.

Iran's Peyghambari, bronze medallist of the Wushu Tournament during the Beijing Olympics, outcast Macao's medal hope Chu Chi Wai by 0.01 point to win the bronze in Guangzhou again.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2010)