INCHEON: North Korea’s Om Yun Chol beat his own world record in the men’s 56kg clean and jerk by one kg to grab the weightlifting gold on Saturday when hosts South Korea were the surprise medal leaders on the first day of competition at the Asian Games.

Om, the 2012 Olympic champion and 2013 world champion, lifted 170kg to earn North Korea’s first gold medal at the Games — a regional version of the Olympics.

Om also had a combined total of 298 kg to mark an Asian Games record after lifting 128 kg in the snatch.

Isolated North Korea has 150 athletes competing in 14 sports at the games in the South Korean city of Incheon, where they are being cheered by local fans despite the bitter hostility between their governments dating from the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

“I am very happy,” the 22-year-old Om told reporters. “Whenever our people face difficulty, we come together and make it through the rough time.”

Margarita Yelisseyeva of Kazakhstan won the other weightlifting gold in the women’s 48kg category with a combined weight of 194 kg.

South Korea, though, top the medal table with five golds and a total of 13 medals at the end of the first day. Powerhouses China were second with five golds and 11 medals overall and Mongolia were third with two golds, one silver and one bronze.

The hosts, however, got off to a rocky start when China, led by the unheralded Zhang Menyuang, beat them to the Games’ first gold in the women’s 10 metre air pistol.

Less than 24 hours after a vibrant opening ceremony marked the launch of the 17th Asiad, Zhang also helped China win the team event.

At the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range, Zhang was a picture of calm, even if she was shaking on the inside, as she took gold from South Korean Jung Jee-hae and India’s Shweta Chaudry.

Juwita Niza Wasni of Indonesia performs during the women’s nanquan final at the Asian Games on Saturday.—AFP

“I’m happy because we shot very well. I was sure they would give me power,” Zhang said of her team-mates Hou Qingyuan and Guo Wenjun. “I felt a lot of pressure during the match. However, Guo Wenjun was beside me, and it made feel relieved.”

Chinese coach Wang Yifu said her triumph was doubly impressive as organisers had “deliberately” arranged the 10m air pistol as the first event, hoping for a home victory.

“It was hard for us to win this medal,” Wang said.

Army sharpshooter Jitu Rai held his nerve on the final shot to snatch 50m pistol gold from Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Phuong and put India amongst the golds.

Lee Ha-sung picked up the hosts’ first gold in the men’s wushu and his coach, Park Chan-dae, said Lee had accomplished something he never could.

“He has achieved my dream for me,” said Park. “Although I won gold six times in the Wushu World Championships, I only got a silver medal at the Asian Games.”

Lee’s combination of whirling kicks, athletic leaps and intricate hand movements earned him a score of 9.71 points to take gold in the martial arts discipline, ahead of Macau’s Jia Rui (9.69) and Japan’s Daisuke Ichikizaki (9.67).

South Korea dominated in fencing, winning both gold and silver in the men’s epee individual and women’s saber individual.

Lee Ra-Jin edged out team-mate Olympic gold medallist Kim Jiyeon to win the saber gold, while Olympic bronze medallist Jung Jin-sun defeated team-mate Park Kyong-doo in the epee.

“It was pressuring at first because the fencing matches were placed at the beginning of the Asian Games,” Jung said. “But if we get to the end in this condition, I think we will be able to win eight, nine or even 10 gold medals.”

Two bronzes were awarded in both events, split between fencers from China, Vietnam and Singapore.

Both of Mongolia’s golds came in judo, with Tumurkhuleg Davaadorj winning the men’s 66kg class and Urantsetseg Munkhbat taking the women’s 48kg competition.

Japan’s Misato Nakamura won the women’s 52kg class and Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan took gold in the men’s 60 kg.

In cycling, China and South Korea split the golds in the team sprint, with the hosts winning the men’s competition and China taking the women’s after Zhong Tianshi rode to victory.

China also struck gold in synchronized swimming, leaving the silver to Japan and bronze to Kazakhstan.

South Korean equestrian Kim Kyun-Sub won a gold medal in the dressage team event and paid tribute to his late uncle, who died in a horror fall at the Asian Games in Doha eight years ago.

Kim Hyung-Chil was crushed when his horse threw him over a fence then landed on him during the eventing competition in Qatar.

“My uncle taught me a lot,” Kim said on Saturday after his ride on Dark Secret. “Whenever I perform in the field, I am reminded of my uncle teaching me and demanding many things. I also thought a lot about him while performing.”

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2014