HANGZHOU: Two hurdlers were crowned champions after a photo finish at the Asian Games on Monday while North Korea doubled down in record-breaking style in the weightlifting.

A South Korean roller-skater was left in anguish, however, after an early celebration cost his team gold in a relay event.

Japan’s Shunya Takayama and Kuwaiti runner Yaqoub Alyouha were both awarded gold in the men’s 110 metres hurdles, officials unable to separate them after they crossed in 13.41 seconds at the Hangzhou Olympic stadium.

Takayama, who took bronze in the event at the previous Asian Games in Jakarta, said he felt lucky to share the title after hitting hurdles in the race. “To get two gold medals, with another athlete, makes me twice as happy,” he said.

Alyouha admitted to a nervous wait before the result was confirmed. “This is very rare in our line of work,” he said. “Honestly? My blood ran cold.”

Bahrain’s untouchable world champion Winfred Yavi surged to the 3,000m steeplechase gold medal as Iranian veteran Ehsan Hadadi’s 17-year reign in the discus ended.

Yavi defended her title in a Games record 9min 18.28sec to add to the 1,500m gold she won on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Hadadi had been unbeaten at the Asian Games since his first gold in Doha in 2006 but he fell to Iranian teammate Hossein Rasouli, who took gold with 62.04m to Hadadi’s 61.82.

North Korea’s record-shattering performances continued in the weightlifting where Kim Il Gyong set a world mark in the snatch (111kg) on the way to winning the women’s 59-kg division.

The 20-year-old became the reclusive east Asian nation’s third female weightlifter to get into the world-record books in Hangzhou where the team is competing in their first international competition since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ri Song Gum and Kang Hyong Yong set records in winning gold in the 49-kg and 55-kg divisions respectively on Saturday.

“Like athletes from other NOCs, we train in great venues. We are devoted and very committed to our preparation,” Kim said when asked about North Korea’s record-shattering performances after years of exile.

North Korea has been deemed non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency for years and their entry into an Olympic weightlifting qualifying tournament in Cuba earlier this year caused an uproar among rival nations, who complained their athletes were not subjected to the same testing.

The North Koreans ended up skipping Cuba and will not compete at the Paris Olympics.

Five years after winning the 69kg gold in Jakarta, a lighter Rim Un Sim coasted to gold for North Korea in the women’s 64kg with a combined lift of 251kg. While it was no world record, it was 17kg better than China’s runner-up, Pei Xinyi.

SOUTH KOREA BLUNDER

Jung Cheol-won had nowhere to hide after easing up and celebrating gold before the finish line in the 3,000m men’s speedskating relay final, only to be pipped by a hundredth of a second.

The fast-finishing Huang Yu-lin from Taiwan just managed to lunge his leg over the line first for what he called a “miracle” win.

“While you were celebrating, I was still fighting,” said Huang.

A crestfallen Jung bowed his head: “I made a rather big mistake. I am very sorry. I apologise to my team-mates and to our fans who supported us. It’s all my fault.”

After eliminating China’s table tennis world champions in the women’s doubles quarter-finals, the dream run of Indian duo Suthirta Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee ended in the semis when they fell in seven games to North Koreans Cha Su Yong and Pak Su Yong.

But South Korea’s Jeon Ji-hee and Shin Yu-bin ended up with the gold with a comprehensive win over Cha and Pak in the final.

China’s Wang Chuqin won his fourth gold medal as the table tennis wrapped up, preventing compatriot Fan Zhedong from taking his third Asian Games men’s singles title in a row, by prevailing 4-3 in a nail-biting deciding game.

Wang completed a perfect set of golds having also won the men’s team, men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Hua Tian ensured a full set of Asian Games medals when he completed the clear show jumping round to win the eventing individual gold.

Hua had won silver at the Asian Games in 2014 and bronze in 2018, and his efforts helped China to team gold.

The hosts dominated the opening day of the canoe sprint events, claiming four out of the six gold medals.

But Kazakhstan’s Sergey Yemelyanov was thrilled to win the men’s canoe double in the 500 metres with team mate Timur Khaidarov, continuing a strong family tradition at the Games.

Yemelyanov’s brothers Mikhail and Timofey won a canoeing gold at Incheon in 2014.

“My emotions, of course, are off the charts because I only won silver medals at the last two Asian Games,” he said. “Tomorrow I will continue with Timofey in the 1,000 metres. I hope there will be a victory.”

Japan completed a clean sweep of the triathlon titles, taking the mixed team gold ahead of runners-up China after winning the individual men’s and women’s events.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023