JAKARTA — Iran's Sohrab Moradi set a weightlifting world record that could last forever Saturday as tearful North and South Korean athletes combined to win a highly symbolic medal at the Asian Games.

Olympic champion Moradi, who served a two-year doping ban from 2013, hoisted a 189kg snatch en route to victory in the men's 94kg class, breaking weightlifting's longest standing world record set in 1999.

Moradi's lift could stay on the record books in perpetuity as after the Games in Indonesia, all the weight classes will change beginning with November's world championships.

"I feel very happy to know that my name will always remain on all the 94kg world records," beamed the Iranian.

Moradi's triumph for the ages came on a day when the Unified Korea team, testament to this year's marked improvement in Korean ties, won an emotional dragon boating bronze medal.

The North and South Korean athletes were in tears as they sung "Arirang", a traditional Korean folk song, to celebrate winning their medal.

Controversy marred the start of the athletics competition when Japanese marathon winner Hiroto Inoue was accused of pushing Bahrain's Elhassan Elabbassi and denying him gold.

Both athletes had complaints rejected by race officials after they made contact during a thrilling sprint finish, which Inoue won by a fraction of a second.

"The number one (leader) pushed me," said Elabbassi. "I would have won."

Inoue was marginally ahead when Moroccan-born Elabbassi tried to overtake the Japanese on the inside. They made contact, resulting in the Bahraini stumbling slightly and losing ground to his rival.

Later, a cat strayed onto the track during the women's 100m hurdles heats, after China's Su Bingtian, joint holder of Asia's men's 100m record, eased into the semis.

China continued its dominance of the women's hammer, claiming both gold and silver for the fifth consecutive Asian Games — a record stretching back to the sport's introduction.

And Daria Maslova won Kyrgyzstan's first ever track medal at the regional Olympics, storming home in the women's 10,000m with a time of 32:07.23.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor handed India its seventh gold medal of the 18th Asiad with a Games record throw of 20.75 meters in the men's shot put. China's Liu Yang won silver and Ivan Ivanov the bronze for Kazakhstan.

In tennis, Uzbekistan's world No. 75 Denis Istomin beat China's Wu Yibing in three sets to win men's singles gold — before jumping on a plane for a 27-hour journey to the US Open in New York.

Istomin, 31, came from behind to beat the reigning US Open boys' champion 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) in Palembang. He plays his first-round match at the season's final Grand Slam on Monday.

World champion Kento Momota was sent crashing out of the men's badminton by Anthony Ginting as the home favorite raised the roof at the Jakarta arena.

At the end of day seven, China had extended its lead on the medals table, with 72 golds to Japan's 34 and 25 for South Korea. — Agencies