(MENAFN- Arab Times) INCHEON South Korea Sept 24 (Agencies): Running on fumes and adrenalin Japanese sensation Kosuke Hagino won his fourth swimming gold medal of the Asian Games in the men's 400 metres individual medley on Wednesday. The 20-year-old already being tipped to win medley gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics roared back on the final leg of freestyle to touch in four minutes 7.75 seconds taking his medals tally to six in South Korea. '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 did bail me out.' However China stretched their lead over Japan in the gold medal standings to 15-8 after winning four of the seven titles on offer on day four with their female swimmers storming to three individual titles and the men winning the 4x100m freestyle relay. Hagino's exertions at these Games looked to have taken their toll on Japan's team leader after an exhausting schedule including two tooth-and-nail scraps with Chinese Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang in the 200m and 400m freestyle. But after stunning Sun in the 200m last weekend and pushing him hard in Tuesday's 400m to claim silver Hagino dug in and blew past China's Yang Zhixian and team-mate Daiya Seta to win by 2.43 seconds for a new meet record. 'I kept it together and pulled it out even though I wasn't quite feeling it tonight' said Hagino who also scored a sensational win over Michael Phelps at last month's Pan Pacific championships. 'But if I want to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal there I will need to do a lot better than that and be more aggressive over the first half of the race.' Shen Duo added the women's 200m freestyle title to her gold in the 100m Jiao Liuyang defended her 200m butterfly crown and Fu Yuanhui won the women's 100m backstroke in another impressive display of girl power from the powerhouse Chinese. Sun swam a powerful third leg for China as they upset Japan to win the 4x100m freestyle relay clocking an Asian record of 3:13.47. Singapore's Joseph Schooling won the city-state's first men's Asian Games gold medal since 1982 touching in 51.76 while there was a second gold medal for surprise package Dmitriy Balandin of Kazakhstan who captured the men's 100m breaststroke in a new Games best of 59.92. 'I wasn't really thinking about it but it always sounds good to break records and surpass milestones' said Schooling a freshman at the University of Texas. 'It's a huge step.' Balandin who has burst onto the scene in Incheon said: 'I didn't expect to win two gold medals. My expectation was to win some bronze. I'm very proud to see the flag of Kazakhstan rise here.' Qatar on Wednesday withdrew their women's basketball team from the Asian Games just before their first match over a rule banning Muslim headscarves. Qatar and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) hit out at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rule which bans all headwear on safety grounds. The Gulf state whoses team were due to open their campaign against Mongolia in the qualifying round at Incheon on Wednesday said the rule ran contrary to Olympic principles on diversity. 'FIBA didn't let our players play with the headscarves and so we had to withdraw from the tournament' said Ahlam Al Mana head of Qatar's women's sports committee. 'What happened today is against International Olympic Committee goals which are meant to include countries from different cultures and also it's against the slogan of the Asian Games in Incheon which is 'Diversity Shines here.'' Al Mana said Qatar knew about the ban in advance but hoped to persuade FIBA to change its mind. The headwear ban has already been relaxed at national level. She added that teams from other countries affected by the ban had not travelled to the Games in South Korea. 'I'm pretty sure that what happened today can change FIBA rules quickly' Al Mana said. 'Of course the OCA encouraged us to participate but this is a technical decision from FIBA. I hope in the near future they will allow us.' FIBA did not comment on the case but the OCA director general Husain Al-Musallam hit out over the hijab ruling. 'The right of the athletes must be the highest priority' he said in a statement. 'Every athlete has the right to represent their country's flag without discrimination or without the threat of a financial penalty.' Football is among the sports which allow religious head coverings following a change of heart from world body FIFA earlier this year. The issue of diversity was raised even before the Games began on Sept 19 when Saudi Arabia revealed that its 199-strong team did not include any female athletes. The Saudi stance sparked criticism from Human Rights Watch which condemned its all-male line-up saying the ultra-conservative state was shutting the door on female athletes having previously shown signs of wanting to break down barriers. South Korea's strong female contingent picked up three more golds on Wednesday including 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 with only Mongolia's Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh denying them a sweep on Wednesday. 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. North Korea's athletes have drawn praise for their remarkable feats of strength in the weightlifting competition but on Wednesday Hong Un Jong won gold with graceful flight. The gymnast won North Korea's fourth gold of the Games in the women's vault.
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