Final weekend of Games brings Koreans joy, pain

South Korea’s second and final weekend at the Doha Asian Games went much the way the first weekend went: a blend of jubilation and disappointment.

Korea got its usual mother lode of medals in taekwondo, snatching five golds, a silver and a bronze. Overall, Korea has six of the 12 gold medals handed out so far in the event, with four remaining as of late yesterday. You Young-dae captured the men’s 58-kilogram title Saturday morning, followed by Kwon Eun-kyung in the women’s 51-kilogram event and reigning world champion Hwang Kyung-seon in the women’s 67-kilogram class. Then early yesterday, Kim Ju-young and Kim Bo-hye won the men’s 62-kilogram and women’s 55-kilogram titles, respectively. Of the winners, Kim Ju-young, 20, was the least expected to capture gold in Doha. Kim’s only victory in major competition had been the title at Korea Open International Taekwondo Championship three months ago. This was the first year he made the national team. Kim was aggressive from the start, breaking the arm of Thai fighter Nacha Punthong in the round of 16. The gold medal contest against Tshomlee Go of the Philippines was a rematch of the Korea Open final. Kim called it the toughest fight of the day. “I knew I hadn’t won anything of note in my career, and so I was determined to go home with the gold medal around my neck,” Kim told reporters afterward. For winning the gold, Kim Ju-young, You Young-dae and Lee Young-yeol, who won on Friday, got another prize ― an exemption from the country’s mandatory military service. Another unexpected gold came in tennis early Saturday, when the men’s team, led by Asia’s highest-ranked player Lee Hyung-taik, came from behind to defeat Japan. In the first match, Japanese ace Takao Suzuki defeated Chung Hee-seok two sets to one in singles, but then Lee got to work. The world’s 49th-ranked player shut down Go Soeda in the second singles match, then teamed up with Jun Woong-sun to fend off Suzuki and Satoshi Iwabuchi in the doubles final. Both teams had to play through three rain delays, the last coming while Lee’s team was leading the doubles match. “We didn’t want to end up in the same fate as four years ago [when we lost to Japan in the final],” he said. This was the third straight Asiad in which Korea and Japan clashed in the men’s team tennis final. On the other hand, Korea’s badminton players got swatted down. Every Korean badminton player lost early Saturday in the semifinals. The men’s doubles pairing of Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae fell in the semifinal to Indonesia’s Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto Chandra by the set score of 2-1. That set the tone for the rest of the day. Lee Hyun-il in men’s singles, Lee Kyung-won and Lee Hyo-jung in women’s doubles and Hwang Hye-yeon in women’s singles all took bronze medals after bowing out in the semis. With a silver and five bronze medals, the Korean badminton delegation failed to win an Asian Games gold for the first time in 24 years. Korea has a good opportunity in other sports to capture golds in its quest to get into second in the overall medal count, behind China. In wrestling, Han Tae-young opened what could be a floodgate of medals, capturing the 96-kilogram class in Greco-Roman yesterday. Han credited his father, a former wrestler himself, for helping him stay on course when he considered quitting the sport a few years ago. Han Jae-ik, the father, never competed on the global stage. Tae-young told reporters “This gold medal is for my dad. He’s always wanted to see a gold medal at our home.” He, too, got a military exemption. Elsewhere, Korean teams came alive in men’s soccer and men’s basketball, following a week of lackluster performances. In a North-South showdown in the men’s soccer’s quarterfinal match, South Korea prevailed 3-0 on goals by Kim Chi-woo, Yeom Ki-hun and Jung Jo-gook. South Korea, seeking its first Asiad soccer gold in 20 years, has not allowed a goal in its last eight Asiad games, dating back to the Busan Asian Games in 2002. It faces Iraq in the semifinals tomorrow at 10 p.m., Korean time. Iran and Qatar will play in the other semifinal. Despite an undefeated record in the preliminary stage, South Korea has been criticized for a lack of cohesion on the defensive end and for a failure to convert scoring chances. But against the North, two of the goals came on set pieces, something that had been missing in the preliminary round. Yeom’s goal was the result of a give-and-go pass with Lee Chun-soo, and Jung scored the third goal by deflecting a low cross by Yeom. “I know that given the implications of the game, there was some pressure on our players facing North Korea, but we controlled the match,” said Pim Verbeek, South Korea’s head coach. “We didn’t want to rush things offensively, knowing the North would apply early pressure to our offense.” Verbeek said that South Korean scouts who attended the Iraq-Uzbekistan quarterfinal match will compile a scouting report on Iraq, on which South Korea currently has “close to no information.” Though he said his team should not underestimate Iraq, Verbeek added, “I am confident. There’s no need to worry.” South Korea’s men’s basketball team, which had staggered to the 2-2 record in the preliminary round, beat Qatar 87-81 in the final group stage game. Korea finished fourth in Group E, and will play China, the top Group F finisher, in the quarterfinal match at 11 p.m. tomorrow, local time. Forward Bang Sung-yoon scored the game high 42 points on 12 three-point field goals, including one that tied the game at 71 apiece with 43 seconds left in the game. Ha Seung-jin, a former National Basketball Association center, chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bang had missed the previous four games with a sprained left ankle. After the Qatar game, Bang’s ankle had to be treated in the locker room before he could begin the press conference. “I am nowhere near 100 percent. I could barely practice before the game,” said Bang, who said the painkillers he took at the halftime still left him dizzy. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do anything for our team, but I am glad I was able to contribute today.” Late yesterday, Jang Sun-jae won Korea’s first gold in cycling track, capturing the men’s individual pursuit title. Teammate Hwang In-hyeok won the bronze in the event, and Korean male cyclers also got a bronze in the team sprint. by Yoo Jee-ho