NANJING, East China, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Yu Chaohong of Yunnan province claimed the men's 50km walk race title with an Asian record at the 10th Chinese National Games here on Saturday.

    Yu finished the treck in a winning time of 3:36:06, knocking 14seconds off the previous Asian record held by fellow Chinese Han Yucheng.

    Yu grabbed two third places in the men's 20km and 50km walk events at the last Games.

    Coming to Nanjing as a veteran turning 30 next month, Yu failed to improve his position in the 20km walk, finishing third again on Wednesday.

    However, in the 50km walk on Saturday, Yu kept his pace and crossed the finishing line first with a result only three seconds slower than the world record, registered by Polish Robert Korzeniowski in the 2003 Paris World Championships.

    In last year's Athens Olympics, Yu finished fourth in the men's50km walk clocking 3:44:45, only nine seconds off the podium. Yu said he was not sure if he could continue his sports career until the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

    Yu's teammate Zhao Chengliang, 21, took the silver medal in 3:36:13, which also bettered the former Asian record of 3:36:20.

    The bronze was picked up by Inner Mongolia's Alatanga in 3:40:23. Enditem