Four years ago in Hiroshima, China’s array of stars took centre stage at the 12th Asian Games, winning a record-breaking 135 golds as they dominated swimming, track and field, weightlifting, table tennis, basketball and volleyball.
Their successes were so convincing that it was the consensus of most observers that it would take the other nations ages to bridge the gap between them and the Chinese.
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But today, strong arguments are being raised claiming the daylight between the Chinese and the rest of Asia has narrowed.
Even with China likely to shine in track and field which will enjoy the biggest spread of 45 golds in the 377-gold Games, shooting with 34 and swimming with 32, the Mainlanders are going to be hard-pressed in their efforts to enjoy as much success as they did in 1994.
The men in this year’s Asiad will vie for 221 golds, the women for 144, while there will be three mixed doubles events in badminton, table tennis and tennis, and nine open competitions, six in equestrian and three in yachting.
It’s now being claimed in several parts of Asia that at the Hiroshima Games the former Soviet Union states -- Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajakistan -- who used to provide athletes to the Russian Olympic and international teams, hadn’t fully settled down to their training schedules, hence they weren’t at their best.
But now these new nations are coming well prepared to make an impact.
Hence China must be extremely careful not to surrender its top spot in the Asiad, a position it took 12 years to reach since its entry into Games in Teheran 1974.
Admittedly, many of the athletes fielded by China, their habitual rivals Japan and South Korea, and the former Russian states are not immediately recognisable to the average sports fan.
Other nations, though, will provide a fair number of athletes at home on the world stage. In tennis, India’s Leander Paes, China’s Fang Li and Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki are all well-known performers and on the snooker table Hong Kong’s Marco Fu, in his first year as a professional, has already carved out a strong reputation.
Fu is tipped to give Thailand’s very own James Wattana a hard time on the green baize and former world champion Stephen Hendry said of the youngster: ‘‘I have been very impressed by him. He’s put together a tremendous amateur record and looks like being a class act.’’
Sadly, Pakistan’s squash great Jansher Khan will not be coming but the Indonesians will bring many of their top badminton players and footballers such as Iran’s Ali Daei of Bayern Munich should thrill the fans.

Track and field, though, has always been the main attraction of the Asiad and it should be so this year, too. Hailed as the Blue Ribband of the Games, competition will be exciting and stiff.
Even with the Chinese having shone at this year’s Asian Track and Field Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, where they captured 26 golds out of the 43 at stake, there are many experts who claim some nations didn’t send their best as they were in the midst of training for the Games.
Of course, the prestigious titles for the fastest man and woman of the continent will enjoy keen interest and the biggest following. Now that Qatar’s sprint ace Talal Mansoor has retired after a hat-trick of triumphs in the 100 metres -- a record no athlete will surpass for years to come -- it will be interesting to see who will lay claim to his throne.
Three strong candidates have emerged as the best hopes. They are Japan’s Koji Ito who gave the Asian Championships 100m a miss but displayed great form to win the 200m in 20.70sec. He is reportedly dipping under 10.3 right now. Hence the sprint double is well within his reach.
Thailand’s Reanchai Sihawong seems to have peaked at the right time, and with his 10.35 run in the Pre-Asian Games meet, he should figure well at the finish. So should China’s Zhou Wei who won the Asian title in 10.39. I would not write off Malaysia’s Watson Nyambaek, either, though he has yet to live up to his early promise as an outstanding sprinter.
Others likely to upset the form book are Japan’s Hiroyushi Tsuchie, Qatar’s Sasad Muftah Al-Kuwani and Kazakhstan’s Gennady Chernoval.
Ito is undoubtedly firm favourite for the 200m with China’s Han Chaoming, Chenoval, Oman’s Hamood Al-Dalhami and Reanchai likely to make an impact.
The battle for women’s sprint honours is wide open. Now that Sri Lanka’s Susanthika Jayasinghe has been cleared for participation, she could very well top the list for the coveted sprint double with China’s Yan Jiankui, who took both golds at the Asian meet, likely to give her stiff opposition. Others who should do well in the century-sprint are China’s Cui Danfeng, Malaysia’s Shanti Govindasamy, Japan’s Motoko Arai and Uzekistan’s Lyudmia Dmitriadi.
In the 200, besides Susanthika and Yan, Huang Mei, also from China and India’s sentimental favourite, the evergreen P.T. Usha, are capable of batting for the top three spots.
The relays, too, should provide excellent entertainment, especially the men’s 4x100m event, in which Thailand should strike a strong claim for the gold. China, which won the gold in Fukuoka, posted an excellent time of 39.03 and Japan, the defending champions who won the event for the first time in 40 years in Hiroshima, will do everything they can to retain the honour, while Qatar cannot be written off.
The women’s honours should go to China, though its team was disqualified in the Asian meet for an infringement which allowed India with Usha to win the gold, defeating Japan and Thailand, who finished in that order.
The Chinese women will come ready to wreak vengeance.
The 4x400m relays should produce the same, if not, more excitement. The Japanese, who lost for the first time in 16 years in the last Asiad, will make a comeback and at the Asian meet they established a record of 3.02.61.
In the women’s event, China will go out firm favourites.

In the swimming pool, the tussle will be between powerhouses China, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan. Thailand, as long as Rattapong Sirisanont and Torlarp Sethasothorn display good form, should pick up a few medals among the men.
Notable among the Chinese men are breaststroker Zeng Qiliang and Jiang Chengji who fluttered his way into the fourth place in the Atlanta Olympics 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle finals.
Japan, well-known for producing well-trained swimmers with impeccable records in drug tests, include freestyler Hirano Masato and backstroke specialist Itoi Hajime among a host of othe stars vying for honours.
On the distaff side, the Chinese are head and shoulders above the rest. But the dour Japanese girls and the Koreans will not allow them to walk away with the medals. Perhaps the best tussle should be witnessed in the women’s 100m backstroke event between Japan’s Nakamura Mei and China’s Chen Yan.
The diving competitions will once again be monopolised by the Chinese. Their acrobatic men and women should soar high in the springboard and platform events.
The graceful synchronised swimming competition should see Japan take the gold with ease. They performed outstandingly well in Atlanta, winning the bronze behind the United States and Canada and ahead of Russia.

In shooting, China’s Wang Yifu made a strong impression in Atlanta in the men’s air pistol. He took the silver in the 10m event and finished sixth in the 50m competition. Men Gang, Xiao Jun and trap-shooter Zhang Bin also showed good form.
They will be up against strong competition from the deadeyes from Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea and India.
If small-bore rifle specialist Beliaev Sergey of Kazakhstan displays the same form he showed in Atlanta, then no one should be able to beat this outstanding marksman.
South Korea’s Lee Eun-Chul and Park Chul-Sung, and China’s trap specialist Zhang Bing, are others who should figure prominently.
In the women’s competition, the Chinese, who have done exceptionally well both on the continent and internationally, will be up against stiff competition especially from Kazakhstan’s rising stars.
The names Beliaeva Gallina and Bondareva Julia should figure prominently, as should should Korea’s famed rifle-shooter Kong Hyun-Ah.

China should dominate the weightlifting competition, especially the women’s events with aces like Chen Yanqing. The Thais, though, are well prepared for the Asiad.
Gymnastics will no doubt bring a good harvest of golds for the acrobatic Chinese, while events like wushu, table tennis and cycling could build up their tally.
All that should keep the Mainland ahead of the rest of the continent but they are by no means going to enjoy a roller-coaster ride as they did in Hiroshima.