(Asiad) Bonanza from taekwondo, wrestling; revenge in hockey, handball

By Special Reporting Team

INCHEON, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- A day after winning 10 gold medals at the Asian Games, host South Korea picked up eight more on Wednesday, including three in taekwondo and two in wrestling, which kept it in second place behind China but ahead of Japan in the medal standings.

The country also took revenge for earlier losses in women's hockey and women's handball.

South Korea beat China 1-0 for the women's hockey title, after losing to China in the shoot-out in the final at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. In handball, South Korea thrashed Japan 29-19 for its sixth Asiad gold medal. Four years ago, South Korea lost to Japan by a goal and settled for bronze.

With the eight gold medals, South Korea reached 62 for the competition with three days remaining. Japan remains well back in third with 39 gold medals, after winning one gold on Wednesday.

The Chinese athletes celebrated their country's National Day with five gold medals to move to 131 for the Asian Games. Two of the gold medals came from athletics, with Wu Shuijiao taking the women's 100ｍ hurdles and Zhang Li winning the women's javelin throw.

North Korea claimed the women's football gold medal with a 3-1 win over Japan, its third Asiad title and first since 2006.

North Korea now has 10 gold medals and is well on its way to finishing inside the top 10 in medals.

In taekwondo, Kim So-hui triumphed for South Korea in the women's under-46㎏ division. Lee Ah-reum also grabbed the gold in the women's under-57㎏ division. The third taekwondo title came from the men's side, where Jo Chol-ho won the gold medal in the men's over-87㎏ division.

Greco-Roman wrestlers contributed two titles to the medal tally. Ryu Han-su won the gold medal in the men's 66㎏ class, and moments later, Kim Hyeon-woo took the gold in the men's 75㎏ division.

In the process, Kim became the third South Korean to complete the Asian "grand slam" of wrestling. He has also captured one world title, three Asian championships and one Olympic gold medal.

The country's soft tennis players continued their hot streak. The mixed doubles team of Kim Beom-jun and Kim Ae-kyung beat the Chinese team of Zhou Mo and Chen Hui 5-1 in the final, bringing home the third soft tennis gold medal in Incheon.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, there were other important victories.

South Korea reached the gold medal games in both the men's and women's basketball at the Asian Games on Wednesday.

In the men's semis, South Korea defeated Japan 71-63 to advance to the final where it will take on Iran, which edged out Kazakhstan 80-78 in the other semis. The men's final tip-off will be 6:15 p.m. Friday at Samsan World Gymnasium.

At the 2010 Asian Games, South Korea won the silver and Iran got the bronze, while China claimed its second consecutive title. This year, China was eliminated in the quarterfinal round.

In the women's event, South Korea beat Japan 58-53 to reach the gold medal game against China, which earlier defeated Chinese Taipei 75-63 and will now aim for its fourth consecutive Asiad gold medal.

At the 2010 Asian Games final, China beat South Korea 70-64. South Korea has never won both men's and women's basketball gold medals at the same Asian Games.

Led by its high-profile star Son Yeon-jae, South Korea earned its first-ever Asiad silver medal in the rhythmic gymnastics team competition.

The team of Son Yeon-jae, Lee Da-ae, Gim Yun-hee and Lee Na-kyung collected a combined 164.046 points from the four apparatus routines.

Uzbekistan won the gold with 170.130 points. The bronze medal went to Kazakhstan with 162.581.

Son herself finished first in the qualifying for the individual all-round finals set for Thursday.

She received a combined 71.732 points from the four apparatus of ball, hoop, ribbon and clubs in the individual qualification, edging Chinese rival Den Senyue with 70.183 points.

Anastasiya Serdyukova from Uzbekistan finished third with 68.315 points and her teammate Djamila Rakhmatova placed fourth with 68.299 points.

No South Korean has ever won an Asian Games gold in any of the rhythmic gymnastics events.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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