Guangzhou:
China's Yuan Xiaochao won the first gold of the 16th Asian Games on Saturday when he captured the men's Changquan title in wushu.
Yuan, the winner in Doha four years ago and a two-time world champion, saw off Japan's Daisuke Ichikizaki, who took silver, and Ehsan Peyghambari of Iran who won bronze.
It was the first of 476 golds to be decided over two weeks of competition in this southern Chinese metropolis.
Yuan scored 9.78 points with Ichikizaki, a bronze medal winner at the 2009 world championships, on 9.72, and Peyghambari finishing on 9.7 in the 12-man field at the Nansha Gymnasium.
Later Saturday, the women's Nandao/Nanquan all-round competition gets underway with 2009 world silver medallist Yuen Ka Ying of Hong Kong starting as favourite.
But she is likely to be pressed by 2009 bronze medal winner Tai Xuen Cheau of Malaysia and China's 2007 Nanquan world champion Fan Lin likely to feature amongst the medals.