Big finish lifts Korea to second

Korea closed out the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, with a flourish, picking up 14 medals, including seven golds, on the penultimate day.

The strong finish gave Korea 58 golds and second place in the medal count for the third straight Asiad. Japan finished with 50 golds and was edged out by Korea for the fifth time in the last six Asiads. Japan, however, had more total medals than Korea in Doha, 198 to 193. North Korea placed 16th with 31 medals, including 6 golds, 9 silvers and 16 bronzes. China, which hosts the Beijing Olympics in 2008, ran away from the field as expected with 164 golds and 315 total medals, with the men’s basketball final still in progress at press time. The Doha games saw six world records, with four by China (three in weight lifting and one in shooting), one by Thailand in weight lifting and one by India in shooting. In 2010, China will host the 16th Asiad in the city of Guangzhou. For Korea, 17-year-old swimmer Park Tae-hwan was the star in the early part of the Doha Asiad, and cyclist Jang Jae-sun dominated the latter stage. Jang picked up his third gold medal in Doha in the men’s Madison tag-team relay race over 50 kilometers (31 miles), with teammate Park Sung-baek. Jang and Park Tae-hwan were Korea’s only triple gold medallists ― Jang is the first Korean to pull off the trifecta in Asian Games cycling. Jang, whose father and coach, Jang Yoon-ho, is a former Asian Game gold medallist, turned 22 on Thursday ― his gold was a perfect birthday gift. After winning the team pursuit gold earlier in the week, the younger Jang said he wasn’t that confident in the Madison race. He credited his teammate for helping him in only his second competitive Madison race. Jang also received words of encouragement from veteran cyclist Cho Ho-sung, who has won four Asiad gold medals. Asked if he is now the face of Korean cycling, Jang deferred to Cho, saying he still has a long way to go. As for his father, Jang said, “He told me, ‘This is your last race here.’ He must have said it about 20 times.” In track cycling’s last race, the men’s Keirin competition, 19-year-old Kang Dong-jin captured the gold medal, Korea’s first Asiad gold in the discipline. The diminutive Kang, listed as 170-centimeters tall on the Asian Games Web site, said he’s only 167 centimeters (5-foot-6). Kang beat out Malaysia’s Josiah Ng Onn Lam thanks to a spurt on the final lap of the eight-lap race. “I didn’t do well in earlier races, and with this being the last opportunity here, I had extra motivation,” Kang said. “When I crossed the line first, I was just numb. Then I screamed from the top of my lungs.” The Korean men’s teams in volleyball and field hockey also had plenty to shout about, as they captured gold medals. With the wins, both teams defended their Asian Game titles. The volleyball squad defeated China by the set score of 3-1. Veterans Shin Jin-sik and Who In-jung led the attack for Korea, which had lost gold medal matches to China at the 1986, 1990, and 1998 Asian Games.

“This team has been together for only two weeks, and we didn’t expect to win gold here,” said Shin, the 11-year veteran of the national team. “But we bonded well over that time. And we developed enough faith in one another.” Volleyball coach Kim Ho-chul said his players’ “strong determination and willingness to play through injuries” was pivotal. “Going in, I was confident we could win every set,” Kim said. “Even though we lost one set, the game went the way we planned. Our players wanted it more than the Chinese.” The field hockey team also beat China 3-1 for back-to-back Asiad gold. Korea gave up an opening goal to Na Yubo, but came back with three unanswered goals, including two by 32-year-old veteran Yeo Woon-kon. Field hockey coach Cho Seong-jun said the leadership and work ethic of his veterans, such as Yeo, captain Kim Yong-bae, and goalkeeper Ko Dong-sik, ignited the team’s drive to gold. “I’d like to go to the Beijing Olympics with all three, if possible,” Cho said. Yeo, however, isn’t so sure about another stint on the national team. Yeo said he has been home only once a month for most of the year, and his two-year-old son still doesn’t know his father’s face. In fencing, the Koreans were razor sharp in downing China. Korea closed out the competition with two gold medals from the men’s epee team and the women’s foil team. All told, Korea’s fencing tally totaled four golds, seven silvers and three bronze medals. On the previous two days, four Korean teams lost to China in gold medal games. “Losing to China again never entered my mind,” said Nam Hyun-hee, a member of the winning women’s foil team and a double gold medallist. “We came out relaxed, and that helped us with the victory.” The men’s soccer and handball teams ended their Asiads without a medal. The handball team fell 31-27 to Iran in the bronze medal match after days of dealing with an officiating controversy in a semifinal loss to eventual gold medal winner Qatar. Korea’s subsequent request for a rematch was rejected. Coach Park Do-heon and the players declined interviews. Captain Yoon Kyung-shin, however, told Yonhap that it was difficult for the team to regroup after the semifinal loss and the suspension of three starters. The soccer squad fell 1-0 to Iran in extra time in the bronze medal match. As it did against Iraq in the semifinal, Korea had more scoring chances, outshooting Iran 5-0 in the first half. Iran’s Adel Kolahkaj scored eight minutes into the second half of the extra period. In men’s tennis, Lee Hyung-taik came up short in his singles final for the second straight Asaid. Lee lost in straight sets to Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke. “I got the flu after the singles semifinal,” Lee said. “I took the day off yesterday hoping to recover, but I guess it didn’t work out. I gave all I had. I really wanted the singles title after winning the team gold, but Udomchoke was very much in control.” by Yoo Jee-ho