Nagoya:Sport climber Lee Do-hyun captured the silver medal in the men's boulder event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, marking South Korea's first medal in the sport at this event.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee achieved a score of 49.7 points, finishing second to Japanese climber Sorato Anraku, who led with 74.5 points. Another Japanese climber, Tomoa Narasaki, secured the bronze with a score of 44.9 points.
This silver medal is Lee's second consecutive one at the Asian Games, having previously won silver in the combined event in 2023. The boulder competition involves climbers attempting to complete routes on 4-meter walls with the fewest attempts. Points are awarded for completing routes and reaching designated midway holds, but points are deducted for unsuccessful attempts. The maximum possible score in the final was 100 points.
In the competition, Lee did not score on his first boulder, while Anraku achieved a perfect 25 points and Narasaki scored 24.9 points. Lee then scored 24.9 points and 24.8 points on the next two boulders. Anraku scored 24.8 and 24.7 points on the second and third boulders, respectively.
Despite having a chance to overtake Anraku in the final boulder, both Lee and Anraku were unable to earn any points. Lee will have another opportunity to compete for gold in the lead event, with semifinals scheduled for Friday and the final on Saturday.
Chon Jong-won, the 2018 Asian Games men's combined champion, finished in fifth place with 30 points.