Nagoya:South Korea's Choe Byeong-kwang earned a bronze medal in the men's half marathon race walk, marking the country's first athletics medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Choe achieved third place with a time of 1:28:35 at the Aichi-Nagoya Race Walking Course. Shi Shengji from China won the gold medal with a time of 1:23:32, while Japan's Toshikazu Yamanishi secured the silver in 1:28:01.

At 35 years old, this marks Choe's first medal in his fourth appearance at the Asian Games. He expressed his happiness and emotional response, acknowledging that this might be his last Asian Games. Choe also expressed optimism for the future performances of younger athletes.

During the 21.0975 km race, Choe was initially in fourth place through the first 6 kilometers. He advanced to fourth by the 7 km mark and moved into third with about 9 km remaining, maintaining his position to win the bronze. This event took place on the first day of athletics at the Asian Games.