Huh Mimi (second from left) on Oct. 1 smiles atop the winners' podium at the medal ceremony for the women's 57-kg judo event of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Jihae

The national team for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on Oct. 1 pulled off its biggest single-day tally of six gold medals at this tournament.

The medals were won in shooting, archery, taekwondo and judo.

Shooting got off to a strong start. The men's 25-m rapid fire pistol team of Song Jong-Ho, Lee Gunhyeok and Yoon Seoyeong scored a combined 1,749 points, edging out China (1,740) for Korea's first gold in the event since the 2014 Incheon Asiad.

Song, who was a member of the winning team 12 years ago, thus won another Asiad gold. Lee later added a second gold in the individual event.

In compound archery, Kim Jong-ho defeated Taiwan's Chang Cheng-Wei, 149-145, to become the first Korean to win the men's individual title in the event at the Asian Games.

In taekwondo poomsae (forms), Korea, as the birthplace of the martial art, swept both the men's and women's individual golds. Jung Haeun won the women's individual gold with an average score of 9.31 in the official and freestyle routines. For the men, Yun Kyusung also struck gold with a 9.38 score, giving Korea the title in this event for the third straight Asiad.

In judo, Huh Mimi won the women's 57-kg division by beating Mongolia's Terbish Ariunzaya by yuko with a shoulder throw in the final. Born to a Korean mother and a Japanese father in Tokyo, Huh is a descendant of independence activist Huh Seok and chose in 2021 to represent Korea to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish.

jihlee08@korea.kr