Japanese women win football, hockey golds
JAKARTA: Yuika Sugasawa’s last-minute header earned Japan the Asian Games gold medal in pouring rain in Palembang with a 1-0 win over China in the women’s football final.
A half hour later on a humid Friday night 400 kilometres (250 miles) away in the Indonesian capital, Japan beat India 2-1 for gold in the women’s hockey.
With only 30 seconds on the clock, forward Mana Iwabuchi crossed from the right wing to set up substitute Sugasawa’s glancing header — Japan’s first and only attempt on target against the Steel Roses.
China had 14 shots to Japan’s four, and five on target, including Gu Yasha’s left-foot strike in the 75th that Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita tipped away.
Earlier, Japan won the women’s triathlon through Yuko Takahashi as the their title haul swelled by 10 to 69, still a distance from China’s uncatchable 118. South Korea lie third on the medals table with 43, ahead of hosts Indonesia on 30 — a record for a Southeast Asian country.
Qatar’s team brimming with naturalised players won the men’s handball, beating Bahrain 32-27 in the final, to become only the second country after South Korea to successfully defend the title.
China remained perfect in the diving competition as Wang Han and Chen Yiwen went one-two in the women’s 1m springboard, and Xie Siyi and Cao Yuan repeated the pattern in the men’s 3m springboard.
In sailing, Japan’s Akira Takayanagi battled stomach pains after swallowing dirty sea water to win a gold medal in the men’s 470 event with team-mate Tetsuya Isozaki. He was one of several sailors struck by stomach cramps, diarrhoea and fever in Jakarta, where the surrounding bay is heavily contaminated by sewage.
Hong Kong’s former Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Lee Wai-sze defended her women’s sprint crown to end the track cycling competition with two gold medals.
While Lee’s win fulfilled expectations for Hong Kong, Jai Angsuthasawit picked up an unexpected track cycling gold for Thailand to break a 48-year drought.
Jai had never previously got close to a major title before winning the men’s keirin from Yudia Nitta of Japan and Azizhulhasni Awang of Malaysia, a world champion and Olympic bronze medalist.
Mongolia’s Narantsetseg Ganbaatar became the first gold medallist in sambo, one of the martial arts making its Asian Games debut, when she won the women’s -48kg category.
And Taiwan won both the men’s and women’s 20km gold medals as roller skating, only contested once before at the 2010 Games in Guangzhou, made a reappearance.
Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2018
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