South Korean rower writes history

Kim Ye-ji of South Korea celebrates after finishing first in rowing in the women’s single sculls final in Chungju Tangeum Lake Rowing Center in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. It was only the second rowing gold medal for the nation at the Asiad. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

South Korean rower Kim Ye-ji claimed gold in the women's single sculls event, marking only the second gold in the sport at the Asiad for the country.

Kim finished her 2-kilometer race first in 8:46.52, ahead of Lee Ka Man of Hong Kong and Vietnam's Ta Thanh Huyen, who recorded 8:59.91 and 9:16.36, respectively, at Chungju Tangeum Lake Rowing Center in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, about 150 kilometers south of Seoul.

The race also made the 20-year-old Kim the first female Korean gold medal winner in Asiad rowing.

Kim, who was first introduced to the sport in her freshman year of middle school, burst into tears right after passing the finishing line.

“I began crying because I thought I could finally smile,” Kim said after the race. “I felt the weight of expectations, but I didn't want to show any sign of weakness. The training has been hard, but I chose to do this sport.”

3 more golds in shooting

South Korean shooters swept up three golds out of four titles.

The first came from the women’s team in the morning at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range in Incheon.

The trio of Jeong Mi-ra, Na Yoon-kyung and Eum Bit-na shot a combined 1,855.5 points for the gold in the women’s 50m rifle prone event, besting China and Malaysia which recorded 1,854.1 and 1853.6 points, respectively. It marked the country’s second consecutive Asiad victory in the event.

Eum also won a bronze in the individual event after earning 620.6 points, following Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh of Mongolia, who marked 624.1 and Nur Suryani Binti Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia, who also earned 620.6, but beat Eum on bullseyes.

The second gold came from the men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol. The trio of Jang Dae-kyu, Kim Jun-hong and Song Jong-ho combined for 1,747 points. China won silver with 1,746 points, followed by Vietnam with 1,704 points.

The 24-year-old Kim also took his second gold after obtaining 31 points in the men’s individual, ahead of two Chinese shooters Zhang Jian and Hu Haozhe, who scored 30 and 25 points, respectively.

So far, South Korea clinched six golds in shooting ― its initial goal ― becoming the second most gold medal winning country following China, which has already taken 10.

Continuing dominance in fencing

South Korea continued to show its dominance in fencing, sweeping up the team titles in both the men’s sabre and women's foil.

The female team, comprised of Jeon Hee-sook, Nam Hyun-hee, Oh Ha-na and Kim Mi-na, succeeded to claim their country’s fifth consecutive Asaid gold in the women’s foil event, beating China’s Wang Chen, Chen Bingbing, Liu Yonqshi and Le Huilin 32-27 at the Goyang Gymnasium.

The men’s team of Gu Bon-gil, Kim Jung-hwan, Oh Eun-seok and Won Woo-young routed the Iranian team 45-26 in Korea’s first Asiad gold in the team saber event since the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

Meanwhile, South Korean wushu practitioners also added gold and silver apiece in men’s events.

Kim Myeong-jin claimed the gold in the men’s sanda 75 ㎏ event, defeating Iran's Hamid Reza Ladvar by the round score of 2-1; while Yoo Sang-hoon won silver in the 70 kg event, losing to China's Zhang Kun 0-2.