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China ends Asian Games on high note

China's women won the final gold medal up for grabs at the 2010 Asian Games, beating South Korea 3-2 in the volleyball final.
China's women won the final gold medal up for grabs at the 2010 Asian Games, beating South Korea 3-2 in the volleyball final.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • China win a thrilling women's volleyball final against South Korea to claim final gold medal
  • Chinese team's medal haul of 416 -- including 199 golds -- breaks their own record
  • South Korea finish second in the medals table; Japan were third
RELATED TOPICS
  • China

(CNN) -- China ended the Asian Games in glorious style on Saturday, taking the final gold medal at stake in the women's volleyball competition in Guangzhou.

The hosts came from two sets down to beat South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling final and take their seventh volleyball title.

Earlier in the day Zhou Chunxiu added another gold to the hosts record-breaking medal haul when she successfully defended her women's marathon title, finishing in a time of two hours 25 minutes.

Her compatriot Zhu Xiaolin took the silver medal, while North Korea's Kim Kum-Ok secured bronze.

In the men's race, South Korea's Ji Youngjun took gold in a time of two hours 11 minutes, 11 seconds. Japan's Yukihiro Kitaoka finished second and defending champion Mubarak Hassan Shami from Qatar (formerly Kenyan Richard Yatich), claimed the bronze.

The final day's results took China's gold medal haul to 199 and their overall tally to 416, beating theirs and the Games' previous best of 183 gold medals set at Beijing in 1990.

"The reason why we have been largely successful is related to the rise of our nation, along with the constant rise of China's economy and our comprehensive national strength. This medal haul again can represent a major achievement in our preparations for the London Olympic Games," China's vice minister of sport Duan Shijie said, AFP reported.

South Korea finished in second place with 232 medals, 76 of them gold.

China's perennial rivals Japan only managed 46 golds in an overall medal total of 216, which saw them finish in third place.