Nagoya: South Korea wasted little time jumping into the thick of the medal race at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, as it swept up four gold medals and 14 medals overall on the first day following the opening ceremony in central Japan.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the first gold medal for South Korea came from modern pentathlon, where Seong Seung-min claimed the women's individual title. She became the first South Korean female pentathlete to win an Asian Games individual title, finishing with 1,492 points after competing in various events including fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing, and laser run at Anjo Sports Park. Zhang Mingyu of China secured the silver with 1,460 points, while Wu Xiyao, also from China, took the bronze with 1,447 points.
In the team events, China captured the gold medal in modern pentathlon, while South Korea's team, comprising Seong, Kim Un-ju, and Shin Su-min, earned the silver.
Cyclist Shin Ji-eun secured South Korea's first medal of the day, winning bronze in the women's time trial event in road cycling with a time of 36:56.14, trailing behind Rinata Sultanova of Kazakhstan.
South Korea's second gold medal of the day also came from modern pentathlon, as the men's team of Jun Woong-tae, Lee Jong-hyeon, and Seo Chang-wan amassed 4,779 points to earn the top spot. Individually, Jun and Lee clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively, with China's Li Liuchang taking gold.
Lee Jun-suk delivered the third gold for South Korea in teqball, becoming the inaugural men's singles champion by defeating Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi of Iraq in the final. Teqball, a sport debuting at the Asian Games, combines elements of football, table tennis, freestyle skills, and sepaktakraw.
South Korea's men's basketball team added a golden finish by defeating Japan 67-57 in the final, marking their first gold in 12 years. Lee Hyun-jung played a pivotal role, scoring 27 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.
In other events, South Korea collected two bronze medals in soft tennis, as both the women's and men's teams fell to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals. Ban Hyo-jin celebrated her 19th birthday with a bronze in the women's 10-meter air rifle event. In swimming, Kim Young-beom and Hwang Sun-woo earned silver and bronze in the men's 100-meter freestyle, while Lee Ju-ho claimed bronze in the men's 100m backstroke.