INCHEON: The issue of religious freedom took centre stage at the Asian Games on Wednesday when Qatari women forfeited a basketball game after refusing to remove the Islamic head scarf, dealing another blow to an event that trumpets diversity and inclusiveness.

Organisers of Incheon’s Asian Games, which have welcomed 9,500 athletes from 45 countries across the length and breadth of the world’s most populous continent, said their hands were tied by International Basketball Federation (FIBA) regulations.

Qatari player Ahlam Salem M. Al-Mana said the team had decided to send a strong message to the governing body by refusing to take the court against Mongolia.

“We have to take this stand,” she said. “We knew about the hijab ban, but we have to be here. We have to show everyone that we are ready to play, but the international association is not ready.”

The row overshadowed another lively day of action in Incheon, where Joseph Schooling won Singapore’s first men’s swimming gold medal at the Asian Games in 32 years by cruising to victory with a Games record 51.76 seconds in the 100m butterfly.

The early leader, Schooling held on 0.15 seconds ahead of Li Zhuhao of China for his second medal of the games, after a bronze in the 200m butterfly on Sunday.

“I was pretty confident at the start that I would win,” said Schooling. “I knew from the start that I wanted to win, and if they wanted to stop me they would have to die trying.”

Meanwhile, China’s gold rush hit full stride and South Korea tightened their grip on second place ahead of rivals Japan. After five days of competition, China top the medal table on 59 golds, followed by the Koreans on 26 and Japan on 20.

China’s dominance in the pool continued with four more titles, including a fourth gold for teenager Shen Duo in the women’s 200m freestyle, following the 100 free and two relay golds.

Jiao Liuyang won the women’s 200m butterfly, leaving London Olympics silver medallist Natsumi Hoshi of Japan in her wake, and Fu Yuanhui took the 100m backstroke before China’s men combined for a 4x100m freestyle win over Japan.

Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won his fourth swimming gold, putting in a strong final freestyle leg to add the 400 metres medley to his 200m medley, 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle titles.

“That was hard work, I felt like I could be in a bit of bother,” Hagino told reporters. “I didn’t expect to feel that tired but I kept it together somehow. Obviously the freestyle [leg] did bail me out.”

Dmitry Balandin of Kazakhstan collected his second gold of the games in the 100m breaststroke, edging Pan Pacific Championships gold medallist Yasuhiro Koseki of Japan.

“I’m tired but I’m really happy, and I’m ready to do it again tomorrow in the 50m,” Balandin said.

China scooped up five out of seven golds in their home-grown martial art of wushu and another five from seven as the rowing competition got underway while weightlifters Xiang Yanmei and Tian Tao both grabbed gold.

Olympic superstar Zou Kai ended China’s wait for a men’s gymnastics gold with a world-class floor routine with compatriots Yao Jinnan and Liao Junlin winning the uneven bars and rings respectively.

Japan’s Masayoshi Yamamoto took the pommel horse and North Korea’s Hong Un Jong won the women’s gymnastics vault with graceful flight.

Japanese cyclists Seiichiro Nakagawa and Tomoyuki Kawabata took gold and silver in the men’s individual sprint.

South Korea won four out of five golds in shooting with their women winning the 50m rifle prone team event at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range. The hosts also took the men’s individual and team 25m rapid fire pistol gold medals.

China’s sharpshooters failed to register a gold for the first time since the shooting events started on Saturday.

“The Chinese are also a very strong team but the pressure got to them at the Asian Games,” said South Korea’s Na Yoon-kyung, who won a gold medal in the rifle prone team event.

Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh denied them a sweep on Wednesday when she became the first Mongolian to win an Asian Games shooting gold medal after clinching the women’s 50m rifle prone title.

The 29-year-old from Ulaanbaatar finished the final with 624.1 points, just four off the world record of 628 set by German Beate Gauss at the recent world championships.

“Our previous best was a team silver four years ago, so this is really, really special,” Chuluunbadrakh said.

“More so since this is also my best score.”

Published in Dawn, September 25th , 2014