Kang Wan-jin (left) and Cha Ye-eun on Sept. 24 at Lin'an Sports Culture & Exhibition Centre pose with their gold medals in individual taekwondo poomsae at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

By Lee Dasom 
Photos = Yonhap News

The national team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, has grabbed five gold medals on opening day.

The country's medal count on Sept. 24 was five gold, four silver and five bronze at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center.

The first gold came in men's individual taekwondo poomsae (forms).

Kang Wan-jin (Hongcheon-gun County in Gangwon-do Province) garnered 7.73 points in the first and second rounds of the men's final at Lin'an Sports Culture & Exhibition Centre, beating runner-up Ma Yun Zhong of Taiwan (7.48).

Following the men's final, Cha Ye-eun (Kyung Hee University) emerged victorious in the women's individual taekwondo poomsae with a score of 7.54 in the first and second rounds to defeat Japan's Yuiko Niwa (7.16) for the gold.

Korea thus swept both golds for poomsae at the Asiad to reaffirm its status as the martial art's country of origin.

In the modern pentathlon, Jun Woong-tae (Gwangju Metropolitan Government) became the first Korean to claim both the individual and team titles at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre.

His 1,508 points earned from swimming, fencing, equestrianism, and the laser run of shooting and running secured the gold. Korea also won the team event with 4,477, beating runner-up China (4,397) to reclaim the top spot for the first time since the 2010 Asiad in Guangzhou, China.

In fencing, Choi In-jeong (Gyeryong City Hall in Chungcheongnam-do Province) clinched the gold in women's individual epee with a 9-8 victory over compatriot Song Se-ra (Busan Metropolitan City).

Korea had a strong start to the Asian Games by finishing second in the medal standings behind leader China, which had 20 golds, seven silvers and three bronzes. Japan was third with two golds, seven silvers and five bronzes.

Jun Woong-tae on Sept. 24 celebrates after crossing the finish line as the winner of the Asian Games' men's modern pentathlon final at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center in Hangzhou, China.