The Korea Herald

피터빈트

[Asian Games] Korea wins cycling gold in men's team sprint, silver in women's team sprint

By 신용배

Published : Sept. 20, 2014 - 22:42

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South Korea struck its first cycling gold in the men's team sprint Saturday at the ongoing Asian Games, part of its two-medal day on the track.

The trio of Kang Dong-jin, Yim Chae-bin and Son Je-yong clocked in at 59.616 seconds after racing three laps of the 333.3m

velodrome at the Incheon International Velodrome in the northern part of this port city, edging China's Xu Chao, Hu Ke, and Bao Saifei, who finished in 59.960 seconds.

It is the first time for South Korea to clinch the gold medal in the men's cycling team sprint at an Asiad. Previously, the silver at the 2002 Busan Asian Games had been the country's best performance in the discipline.

The team defeated its Chinese rival by a margin of only 0.244 seconds by dominating the race throughout.

Japan's Tomoyuki Kawabata, Seiichiro Nakagawa, and Kazunari Watanabe grabbed the bronze after recording a time of 60.436 seconds.

Earlier on Saturday, South Korea picked up the silver medal in the women's cycling team sprint, which took place at the same velodrome.

The duo of Kim Won-gyeong and Lee Hye-jing finished their two-lap race in 44.876 seconds, behind the Chinese champions of Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi, who finished in 43.774 seconds.

The Chinese Taipei team of Hsiao Mei Yu and Huang Ting Ying clinched the bronze medal after clocking 45.389 seconds.

South Korea aims to grab at least four golds in cycling, which remains an unpopular sport here. The country clinched four golds and one silver in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and five golds, two silvers, and eight bronzes at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. (Yonhap)