Swimmer Ken Takakuwa won the men's 200-meter individual medley gold at the Asian Games on Wednesday, shortly after Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima's withdrawal from Thursday's 200 breaststroke event was announced.
Takakuwa powered home in 1 minute, 58.31 seconds to beat China's Wang Shun by 1.41 on the penultimate day of swimming at Aoti Aquatics Centre. Yuya Horihata took bronze in 2:00.48.
"This is my signature event, so it was a must-win race," the 25-year-old Takakuwa said.
"I was determined to go aggressive from the start. I wanted to contribute to the team. I'm not fully happy with my time but I feel good about the way I swam."
Takakuwa gave Japan its sixth swimming gold, while Japanese women remained winless after 17 events.
Olympic gold medalist Park Tae Hwan picked up his third individual title of the Guangzhou Games with victory in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 48.70. China's Lu Zhiwu was second, followed by Takuro Fujii.