PALEMBANG, Sunday: Athletes from North and South Korea combined to win an Asian Games gold medal for the first time in their history with victory in the women’s 500 metres dragon boating on Sunday.
The two Koreas, competing together after a rapid improvement in cross-border relations, took gold with a time of two minutes and 24.788 seconds, edging past China on 2:25.092. It was the first gold at a major Games for a Unified Korea team, and came nearly three decades after their last title together -- in the women’s team event at the 1991 world table tennis championships.
North and South Korea have also joined forces in rowing and women’s basketball at the regional Olympics following a rapid improvement in relations this year.
At last week’s opening ceremony, the Korean teams marched together behind the Unified Korea flag, held aloft jointly by South Korean women’s basketball player Lim Yung-hui and North Korean footballer Ju Kyong Chol.
CHELIMO BLASTS HEAT, POLLUTION AFTER MARATHON GOLD
World champion Rose Chelimo made light of brutal conditions on Sunday to scoop Asian Games gold for Bahrain with a runaway win in the women’s marathon.
The Kenyan-born athlete produced a devastating break from the leading pack after the 25-kilometre mark in Jakarta and ploughed a lonely furrow as she crossed the line to win in a modest time of two hours, 34 minutes and 51 seconds.
Chelimo’s gold continued Bahrain’s recent Asian Games success in the marathon after Eunice Kirwa and Hasan Mahboob -- both also born in Kenya -- won the women’s and men’s titles in 2014.
Despite smashing her rivals in a slow race to take gold, Chelimo admitted that Jakarta’s heat and poor air quality had caused her problems.
“It was bad, it was too hot,” the 29-year-old told AFP. “I felt something in my throat too. The air here, you feel like it’s hard to breathe. I felt like I wasn’t going to finish but I found some morale and hope to keep going. Thank God I finished with no harm.”
LEGEND DAVID WINS SQUASH GOLD ON BIRTHDAY
Malaysian squash legend Nicol David celebrated her 35th birthday in style on Sunday as she won a record-extending fifth gold medal at the Asian Games.
The former long-time world number one grittily came from behind in the fifth set to beat 19-year-old compatriot Sivasangari Subramaniam 11-13, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8 in Jakarta.
It added to David’s near-flawless record at the regional Olympics, where she has lost only once in six visits since her debut in 1998 -- the 2002 final against Hong Kong’s Rebecca Chiu.
David stunned the world of squash when she won her first Asian Games gold as a 14-year-old in 1998, and went on to spend a record 108 months as world number one from August 2006 to September 2015.
INDONESIA’S GIANT KILLER GINTING SAILS INTO BADMINTON SEMIS
Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting extended his giant-killing spree on the badminton court with a stunning victory over the reigning Olympic champion in the Asian Games quarter-finals on Sunday.
Ginting beat Chen Long 21-19, 21-11 to sail through to the semis, guaranteeing Indonesia a medal in the men’s singles event in Jakarta.
The 21-year-old, fresh from victory against Japanese world champion Kento Momota on Saturday, brought the curtains down on China’s medal hopes after Shi Yuqi’s swift exit in the first round.
The new Indonesian poster boy will now face Taiwan heavyweight Chou Tien Chen, who battled past NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong 21-18, 21-18.
A Palestinian weightlifter wept as he belatedly learned of his young sister’s tragic death from illness -- a day after he competed in the Asian Games. Hani al-Qassas’s family and team kept the news from him until after his appearance at the Games, the first international competition he had permission to attend.AFP.
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