Nagoya:South Korea added three gold medals to its tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, although hopes for a larger medal haul were hampered as the event neared its conclusion.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the first day of recurve archery medal competition saw South Korea clinch a gold, a silver, and a bronze. Lee Woo-seok, Kim Je-deok, and Kim Woo-jin secured the men's team gold medal with a 5-1 victory over India, marking South Korea's second consecutive gold in this event. While Lee and Kim Je-deok were part of the 2023 championship team, it was Kim Woo-jin€š¬€ž¢s first team gold since 2010.
In other competitions, Kim Je-deok and Kang Chae-young captured a bronze in the mixed team event, struggling with windy conditions at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. Earlier, Kang, Lee Yun-ji, and Oh Ye-jin ended South Korea's gold streak in the women's team final, losing 5-3 to India.
On the esports front, South Korea defended its League of Legends title with a 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei despite the absence of esports star Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker. The team earned its second esports gold medal of the Asiad.
Sailor Ha Jee-min achieved his fourth Asian Games gold by winning the men's dinghy title at Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor in Gamagori. Meanwhile, Kim Chang-ju and Lee Gyeong-jin secured a silver in the mixed dinghy event.
With these achievements, South Korea's gold medal count rose to 33, trailing behind China and Japan. Although additional golds were anticipated on Saturday, meeting the target of 40 to 45 gold medals appeared unlikely.
Elsewhere, South Korea's women's football team triumphed over China 1-0 for a bronze medal in Osaka, marking their first victory over China in 11 years. In tennis, Nam Ji-sung and Park Ui-sung won silver in men's doubles, losing to Japan's Yusuke Kusuhara and Shunsuke Nakagawa.
In boxing, Jang Dong-hwan took silver after a defeat by Uzbekistan's Abdumalik Khalokov in the men's 60-kilogram final, and Kim Min-seong earned silver in the men's 80kg division against India's Ankush Panghal.
South Korea also garnered two silvers and two bronzes in ju-jitsu, along with two silvers and three bronzes in judo. Taekwondo saw no golds as the "kyorugi" events began, with An Hyang-sik and Kwak Min-ju being the only medalists, both securing bronze.