Asian Games Roundup : South Korea Second in Gold Medals

South Korea took over second place from Japan in the number of gold medals won Tuesday, while China moved to within four golds of surpassing Japan’s 1966 Asian Games-record haul of 77.

South Korean archers claimed four more world bests, unheralded sprinter Talal Mansoor of Qatar won the men’s 100 meters and India’s track sensation P.T. Usha posted an easy victory in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.

Overall, it was South Korea’s day. In addition to seven victories in archery, the host nation also won the first two taekwondo golds, beat defending champion India for the women’s field hockey title, took another gold from table tennis power China and won one race on the track.

After 11 days of competition, South Korea has 47 golds, 40 silvers and 56 bronzes, while Japan has 46 golds, 52 silvers and 55 bronzes. China is way ahead with 74 golds, 63 silvers and 32 bronzes.

Asian records fell in seven of the eight archery events, and in four cases the organizers reported the scores as world bests. The International Archery Federation, however, does not list records in those categories.

Park Jung-ah and Yang Chang-hun each took two golds for South Korea--Park in the women’s 50 meters and for overall individual, and Yang for the men’s 50 meters and 30 meters. Yang, however, lost the overall men’s title to Japan’s Takayoshi Matsushita.

Kim Jin-ho won for Korea in the women’s 30 meters, and the Koreans took both the men’s and women’s team titles.

In track and field, Japan’s Shigenobu Murofushi won his fifth Asian Games hammer throw gold with a throw of 227 feet.

Japan’s only other gold in track and field came in the 3,000-meter steeplechase when Shigeyuki Aiyko broke the Asian Games mark with a clocking of 8 minutes 36.98 seconds.

Mansoor won the 100 meters in a Games-record time of 10.42. His gold was the first ever in the Asian Games for Qatar.

Bahrain gained its first ever when Ahmad Hamada won the men’s 400-meter hurdles, breaking the Asian Games mark with a time of 49.31.

In the women’s 400 hurdles, India’s Usha bettered the Games record of 58.47 with a time of 56.08.

Lim Chun-ae of South Korea took the women’s 800 meters in 2:05.72, and China’s Zhu Yuqing won the heptathlon.

China’s Ma Yongfeng won the shotput with a toss of 60-feet 1/2-inch, and teammate Ji Zebiao pole vaulted 17-8 1/2 for a Games record.

In table tennis, the Chinese won four of five finals. Their one loss was to Korea in the men’s singles. Their victories came in women’s singles and doubles, mixed doubles and men’s doubles.

The South Korean women followed up their men’s upset victory by downing another field hockey power, India, 3-0, in the final.