2022 Asian Games (golf) - played Sept 28 - Oct 1, 2023

For Golf:

Ruoning Yin is going to rep for China. As I mentioned in another thread, the Korean committee asked a bunch of pros to play (both LPGA and KLPGA) and none accepted. They didn't give names, and perhaps that's for the best. This is the first time where pros will be allowed to play this event.

I do know that Min Sol Kim is one of the three amateurs on the Korean squad. In recent interviews, she has made it clear she is gunning for gold, and she knows darn well that Yin is playing for the home team, so give her props for confidence!

This is a great "Coming Out Party" opportunity for these gals, especially Min Sol. Past winners of the gold medal here include Ai Miyazato and So Yeon Ryu, both former world number ones, and Gyeol Park, who has made a nice name for herself on the KLPGA since then.

Below: So Yeon won the 2006 Asian Games gold medal in a rout. Silver went to former LPGA player Mika Miyazato, bronze to Korean He Yong Choi, who still plays on the KLPGA tour.

By the way, Yin is now the #2 player in the world; Lilia Vu overtook her this week.

The Queen Sirikit Cup featured a fairly similar lineup of teams, although there were no pros there. The Koreans won the team portion there and Hyun Jo Yoo won silver (Min Sol was 6th IIRC). One of the Indian women won the individual award by ten strokes, and I'm guessing she'll be here again. Will be interesting to see if that was a one-off or if this is a new budding superstar on the horizon.

[EDIT]: the Indian golfer was Avani Prashanth; not sure if she's in the field but I would be astounded if she weren't.

The swimming competition is going on, and one world class swimmer is cleaning up at the Asian Games: Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey. Wait -- 'Haughey' is from Hong Kong? Asian Games, right? OK, her actual full name is Siobhan Bernadette Haughey. Maybe that doesn't clear things up, eh?

No, she isn't a white ringer brought in to collect golds. Haughey was born and raised in Hong Kong. She has an Irish dad and Chinese mom. She speaks fluent Cantonese. At the last Olympics, she became the first Hong Kong swimmer to ever win a medal when she collected two silvers. Since then, she has set a world record and become even more elite.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CazXQglhx53

So far at these Asian Games, Haughey has two golds, setting Asian Games records in the 100 and 200 m freestyle. Her 100 was the second best 100m freestyle swim by any woman anywhere in the world this year.

Haughey in the 200 m:



She also got a bronze in the 50 m breaststroke and helped lead her team to a bronze in the 4x100 m free. Included in that relay was Stephanie Au, who was previously the most successful HK swimmer and who is retiring after these games.

4x100 relay:



Siobhan is super nice and an icon in Hong Kong; and she isn't done at these games yet. Next she will be going against China's Zhang Yufei, who broke the women's 50 m freestyle record for Asia in qualifying for the final; Haughey, who is better at distance, qualified with the second best time and will no doubt give Zhang all she can handle in the final.

Siobhan gives a victory interview in Cantonese:



Good luck Siobhan!