Sport Briefs

PARAGLIDING

Women’s team captures Korea’s first gold in the sport

Korean paragliders topped the women’s team cross-country track 5 event at the Asian Games on Wednesday to claim their first gold medal.

The team of Baek Jin-hee, Jang Woo-young and Lee Da-gyeom scored a total 4,924 points after five rounds to edge Japan out for gold.

Paragliding became an official medal sport at this year’s Asiad. Athletes round target locations and are judged by their accuracy and speed. Each team takes five flights.

This was Korea’s fifth paragliding medal at Jakarta Palembang 2018. The country also has two silver and two bronze medals.

SOFT TENNIS

Kim Jin-woong tops men’s singles tournament at Asiad

Kim Jin-woong won a gold medal in men’s soft tennis singles at the Asian Games on Wednesday.

Kim beat Alexander Elbert Sie of Indonesia 4-2 (5-3, 8-6, 6-8, 4-1, 3-6, 4-2) in the final at the Jakabaring Sport City Tennis Court in Palembang, Indonesia, to grab his first Asiad gold.

Kim, who topped the 2015 World Championships, stormed into the final by beating his Korean compatriot Kim Dong-hoon, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Korea is the dominant force in soft tennis at the Asian Games. Since it was introduced as a medal sport at in 1994, Korea won 23 out of the 36 gold medals awarded prior to Jakarta Palembang 2018.

SKATEBOARD

Eun Ju-won skates to third in men’s street competition

Skateboarder Eun Ju-won won the bronze medal in the men’s street competition at the Asian Games on Wednesday.

Eun had a best score of 25.4 points after two runs to take third place among eight skateboarders in the men’s street final at the Jakabaring Sport City Skateboard Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia.

Keyaki Ike of Japan took the gold medal at 31.1, followed by Sanggoe Darma Tanjung of Indonesia at 30.5.

Skateboarding is being contested for the first time at the Asian Games with two events: park and street.

In the street competition, participants show their performance on various urban obstacles, such as stairs and handrails.

Yonhap