Seong Seungmin on Sept. 20 cheers after crossing the finish line at the laser run event of the women's individual modern pentathlon final at Anjo Sports Park in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, in Japan.
By Kang Gahui
Photos = Yonhap News
The national team has seen a strong start at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, winning four gold medals on opening day and ranking third in the medal standings.
The first gold came in the women's modern individual pentathlon by Seong Seungmin. On Sept. 20 at Anjo Sports Park in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, she posted a winning composite score of 1,492 in the sport's five events of fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing, and laser run (running and shooting).
A bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, she is the first Korean to win her event at the Asiad.
The men's modern pentathlon team was also victorious. Jun Woongtae, Lee Jonghyeon and Seo Changwan put up a combined score of 4,779, beating China by 11 points.
The third gold came in the new Asiad event of teqball, a hybrid game using a curved table and blending elements of soccer, table tennis and sepak takraw, a Southeast Asian sport that blends volleyball with soccer. Lee Junsuk beat Iraq's Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi in straight sets (12-11, 12-5) in the men's singles final at Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center.
And the men's basketball team secured the gold at Aichi International Arena, beating the host nation, 67–57, for Korea's first title in the tournament since the 2014 Incheon Asiad and fifth overall.
Korea on opening day thus ranked third in the medal standings with four gold, three silver and seven bronze.
Small forward Moon Jeonghyeon (left) and shooting guard Yu Kisang on Sept. 20 celebrate the men's basketball team's win over Japan at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, for the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
kgh89@korea.kr
