Yamashita Haruki of Japan competes during the Cross-Country Skiing men's 10km free match at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Yabuli, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua )

HARBIN, Feb. 10 (Xinhua): Haruki Yamashita claimed Japan's first cross-country skiing gold medal at the Harbin Asian Winter Games after winning the men's 10km free event on Monday.

A total of 46 skiers competed in the race, with each competitor starting 30 seconds apart.

Despite Chinese veteran Wang Qiang holding the fastest pace across the first 6km, Yamashita surged in the latter stages of the race. The 25-year-old Japanese finished in 21 minutes and 6.5 seconds taking gold.

Japan's Takatsugu Uda was 10 seconds behind Yamashita to earn the silver, while Kazakhstan's Olzhas Klimin secured the bronze in 21 minutes and 20.3 seconds.

China's Bao Lin and Wang finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The cross-country skiing competition will conclude on Wednesday with the women's 4x5 km relay and the men's 4x7.5km relay events.

China sealed six out of seven golds on offer at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games on Monday, with Japan bagging the rest in the cross-country men's 10km free.

Speed skater Gao Tingyu, one of the six OCA flagbearers during the Harbin 2025 opening ceremony, pocketed his second gold at the Games in the men's 500-meter, following his triumph in the men's 100m race last Saturday. Wataru Morishige of Japan and South Korean Kim Jun-ho finished second and third, respectively.

Yang Binyu led a podium sweep for China in the speed skating women's 3,000m, with Han Mei and 18-year-old Tai Zhien securing silver and bronze.

The Chinese skaters maintained the strong momentum, clocking one minute and 19.22 seconds to win the men's team sprint. South Korea trailed 1.26 seconds to take the silver, while Japan settled for the bronze.