Asian Games 2023: Hosts China win artistic swimming team event, securing Paris 2024 quota spot

History was made in the artistic swimming pool on Sunday (8 October) at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou as hosts People's Republic of China claimed team gold.

For the first time, men had competed in an artistic swimming event, and as part of the winning team, Shi Haoyu also became the first male artistic swimmer to win a medal of any colour at the Asian Games. While Shi did not participate in the free routine, he had competed in the acrobatic segment of the final. (Thailand's Kantinan Adisaisiributr was the other man who took part, finishing eighth.)

China led Japan by over 25 points after the acrobatic and technical routines, and imposed their dominance with a stunning free routine that scored 341.4875 points for a total of 868.9676.

The Japanese concluded the event some 37.7141 points behind, totalling 831.2535. Kazakhstan won bronze on 663.7417, showing the gulf in class between Asia's top two teams and the rest.

With their victory, China obtained a Paris 2024 Olympic qualification quota for the team event as well as the duet event. As a Chinese pair also won the Asian Games duet on Saturday, the quota from the duet final passes to Japan, who were silver medallists and the next-best duet not already qualified.

National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, and athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

• Asian Games 2023: Overall medal table