Korea wins two golds and two silvers from judo

Wang Ki-chun sheds tears after being defeated by Russia’s Khasan Khalmurzaev in the men’s -81 kilogram judo competition, Sunday. Wang won a silver. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

GWANGJU -- Glory and grief contrasted in judo competitions on Sunday, with four Korean judokas claiming two golds and two silvers on day three of the 2015 Gwangju Universiade.

At the Yeomju Bitgoeul Gymnasium, Kim Seong-yeon and Gwak Dong-han clinched gold in the women’s 70 kilogram and in the men’s -90 kilogram contests, respectively, while Bak Ji-yun in the women’s -63 kilogram and Wang Ki-chun in the men’s -81 kilogram won silver medals.

Kim, whose gold was the first of the evening, beat Japan’s Kazuki Osanai by two yukos. Though she gave away two shidos, her aggressive attack 2 minutes and 36 seconds in and another a minute later gave the Gwangju native a top podium finish in front of the home fans packed into the stadium.

Moments later, Gwak defeated Khusen Khalmurzaev of Russia by an ippon with a shoulder throw just one minute into the contest, bagging his second Universiade gold following his win in the Kazan Universiade two years ago.

Wang Ki-chun meanwhile sought redemption after his loss against Russia’s Khasan Khalmurzaev. With 20 seconds remaining, Wang, who trailed the Russian by a wazari, tossed the Russian. Initially, the referee called it was a wazari, which gave Wang, who earned two yukos, the lead. The skill was later judged as invalid after thye judges checked the video replay.

Wang, who believed it was a valid skill, collapsed on the mat after the match ended. After seeing reporters waiting for him in the mixed zone, Wang refused to give any comment.

“The final call was made after the judges’ discussion, and there is no chance for Wang to appeal this decision,” a technical official at the stadium said.

Bak, who stepped up on the mat first, displayed a tight game against Megumi Tsugane of Japan, but was defeated by an ippon with just 14 seconds remaining in the match.

2 medals in rifle shooting

Korea picked up two medals in rifle shooting Sunday, with sharp-shooter Park Sung-hyun leading his compatriots.

The 21-year-old clinched the silver in the men’s 10m air rifle team event and stood on the podium later in the day after snatching a bronze in the individual event.

At the Naju Jeollanamdo Shooting Range in Naju, South Jeolla Province, Park teamed with Kim Hyeon-jun and Lee Jae-won to collect a total of 1866.4 points to follow the Chinese team who shot 1870.6 points. India followed Korea with 1859.0 points.

Later in the day, Park became the first Korean athlete to have multiple medals at the Gwangju Universiade after shooting 185.7 points in the individual event.

Chinese shooters Liu Zhiguo and Yang Haoran recorded 207.5 points and 207.3 points, respectively, to bag gold and silver.

“I thought I could win the gold, but unfortunately failed,” Park said after clinching the bronze.

Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon serves during his game against Raphael Hemmeler of Switzerland in the Gwangju Universiade tennis men's singles second round at the Jinwol International Tennis Court in Gwangju, Sunday. Chung won 2-0. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Chung Hyeon cruises to 3rd round in men’s singles

Korean tennis star Chung Hyeon made a fresh start to his campaign at Gwangju, Sunday, cruising past Raphael Hemmeler of Switzerland in the tennis men’s singles second round.

Chung was No. 1 seed in the draw and earned a bye into the second round where he easily beat the Swiss player 2-0 (6-4, 6-0).

“Since it was the first match (at Gwangju), I was a little bit nervous, but anyway I played the match not that bad,” Chung said. “Luckily, the opponent was not that strong, so I played quite easily.”

During the match, Chung was solid enough to prove his presence as an ATP No. 79 ranker, placing six aces while Hemmeler recorded none.

In the first set, the two tested each other and Chung seemed to be not warmed up, allowing a number of double faults.

With the game score 5-2 to Chung, the 19-year-old displayed a clever drop shot to freeze Hemmeler which drew the spectators’ applause, but as following shots went into the net, he shook his head.

Chung lost the ninth game, after playing the only deuce of the match, but successfully claimed the set after defending his service game.

After the break, Chung regained momentum, testing Hemmeler with powerful shots and creating wide angles onto the court.

Hemmeler, who beat Canadian Roman Trkulja in the first round, had a hard time covering the court, but had to watch Chung expressing gratitude to home fans after the game lasted shorter than one hour.

“I tried to focus on the second set and I did not lose tension and that led me to the victory,” Chung said.

“Wearing a jersey that bears the Korean flag has a different meaning for me,” he said. “Though I returned to Korea shortly after playing at the Wimbledon, I’m in good condition and there’s no jetlag,” Chung said adding that he will play as hard as he can for Korean fans.

Chung will face Harri Oliver Helioevaara of Finland in the next round.

Meanwhile, spectators at the Jinwol International Tennis Court in southeastern Gwangju displayed different manners from those who caused a disappointing scene during the Incheon Asian Games tennis competitions last year.

At that time, criticism came after some fans left for snacks, came late and tried to find their seats or made noise when the ball was in play. However, the audience at Gwangju showed more maturity in following the announcer’s request for silence.