by sportswriter Li Jia

NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China captured two sport climbing gold medals and secured an all-Chinese women's tennis final at the 2026 Asian Games on Thursday.

In the men's speed climbing final, China's Chu Shouhong scaled the wall in 4.714 seconds to claim gold, while Zhang Yuetong edged home favorite Ai Mori to win the women's boulder title.

Mori, who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, scored 84.8 points to Zhang's 85.0 at Portmesse Nagoya. South Korea's Seo Chae-hyun finished third.

"I feel that the strength given to me by my country helped me win this gold medal. Winning it on such a special day as China's National Day makes it especially meaningful to me," Chu said.

In tennis, top-seeded Philippine star Alexandra Eala saw her bid for gold end in the semifinals as China's world No. 85 Wang Xiyu fought back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Eala, the world No. 18 and the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title, was seeking to become the first Philippine woman to win the Asian Games singles crown. The 21-year-old instead took bronze, having also been eliminated from the women's doubles competition earlier in the Games.

Wang, who trailed 5-0 in the first set, said she took inspiration from compatriot and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

"I told myself to keep believing in myself, trusting that I can turn things around," Wang said. "I thought of how Zheng was able to come back from 0-5 down at the US Open recently. I wanted to replicate that."

Wang will face compatriot Zhang Shuai for the title after the 37-year-old defeated second-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-2.

Zhang, competing in her fourth Asian Games, repeatedly gained the upper hand in long baseline exchanges to secure her place in the final.

Following the match, Zhang spoke of the significance of representing China on National Day.

"Although tennis is a professional sport ... there is a different sense of pride that you don't get from tournaments on the tour," she said. "As long as you have a dream and keep a young heart, it's never too late."

China also added gold medals in canoe slalom and sailing.

In the men's canoe single (C1) final, Zhang Zhicheng maintained his strong form from the preliminaries, completing the course without penalties in 98.09 seconds to win gold.

In sailing, China's Liu Tian and Wen Zaiding successfully defended their Asian Games title in the men's 49er class.

China's men's volleyball team advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 victory over Thailand, while the men's hockey team defeated Bangladesh 7-1 to set up a fifth-place playoff against Japan on Saturday.

In beach volleyball, Xia Xinyi remained on course for a fourth consecutive Asian Games title after she and partner Yan Xu reached the women's final.

On the men's side, Qatar's Cherif Samba and Ahmed Janko also advanced to the final as they seek a third consecutive Asian Games title.

The shooting competition concluded with South Korea winning both the men's 25m rapid fire pistol team and individual events. China finished atop the shooting gold medal table with 16 titles, while India and South Korea won three each.

Host Japan dominated Thursday's judo competition, winning three of the five gold medals on offer. South Korea's Huh Mimi, who was born and raised in Japan, also took gold, while China's Tao Yuying and Zhang Wen finished seventh in the women's 57kg and 63kg divisions, respectively.

After 12 days of competition, China leads the medal table with 154 gold, 71 silver and 63 bronze medals. Japan is second with 59 gold, 79 silver and 79 bronze, followed by South Korea with 30 gold, 30 silver and 53 bronze.