TOYOTA CITY: South Korea won men’s football gold at the Asian Games on Saturday beating hosts Japan 1-0 in the final to lift the gloom after a disastrous World Cup and series of damaging controversies.
Tom Kim added another gold to South Korea’s tally as he clinched the men’s golf crown — and will avoid military service.
In the Toyota Stadium, Swansea City’s Eom Ji-sung rifled in on the hour to give the Koreans their fourth straight title in front of 30,000 fans.
Japan were looking to win gold for the first time since 2010 and were coached by Go Oiwa, who will take over the senior national team after next year’s Asian Cup.
The Asian Games are contested between U-23 squads with three overage players.
“This goal was in all our hearts,” the 24-year-old match-winner Eom said of the players’ determination to win the title again.
“We had to do a lot of defending tonight, but we always knew there would be one chance for us, and with the right timing and right service, it was me.”
South Korea endured a miserable World Cup in North America this year, going out in the group stage after a shock loss to South Africa.
Coach Hong Myung-bo quit but his departure did little to quell public outrage over the disappointing campaign and added fuel to pre-existing questions about how he was hired.
Police raided Korean FA headquarters in August as part of an investigation into Hong’s 2024 appointment.
The KFA also apologised for allegations that it provided sexual entertainment for foreign referees.
MORE THAN GOLD FOR KIM
Kim shot a sparkling final-round six-under 64 to win golf gold.
He let out a roar of “Come on!” as he tapped in for par at the last and celebrated a three-stroke victory after a superb round containing five birdies and an eagle.
He was mobbed by his team-mates as they draped him in the South Korean flag and doused him in water.
“It’s a crazy feeling,” said the world number 32, who dashed across 14 time zones to play in the Asian Games after the Presidents Cup. “I’m just glad it’s over. This day was the longest day I think I’ve ever had in my life.”
Kim knew there was more at stake than just a gold medal.
Able-bodied South Korean men are usually required to perform between 18 months and two years of military service before the age of 28.
But the Seoul government rewards Asian Games gold medals and Olympic medals of any colour with an exemption, meaning they will carry out just four weeks of light basic training instead.
It enables the 24-year-old Kim to keep his blossoming career on track, having already claimed an Asian Tour order of merit crown and four PGA Tour titles.
‘GLAD TO BE ALIVE’
Coleman Wong was eagerly checking his phone for a message from Rafael Nadal after the Hong Kong player won tennis gold, and with it a place at the Olympics.
Wong beat China’s Wu Yibing 6-2, 6-4 in the men’s singles final.
Now 22, Wong trained as a youngster at the Rafa Nadal Academy, and the Spanish great keeps abreast of how Wong is progressing.
Asked whether he had heard from Nadal following his golden triumph, Wong said: “I haven’t checked my messages. I don’t know. Let’s see.”
Hong Kong’s men’s rugby sevens team romped to a third consecutive gold with a dominant display in a 26-0 victory over China.
Japan cycling queen Yumi Kajihara broke down after her latest gold as she dedicated victory to her brother who died of cancer this year, saying: “He’s here with me.”
Kajihara claimed her third consecutive omnium gold and dissolved into tears as she talked about how her younger brother Hyogo had helped her cope with some dark moments.
“It made me realise I needed to be grateful simply to be alive,” she said.
Japan’s Kae Tokumoto and Saki Tsukamoto won padel’s first gold medal on the racket sport’s Games debut, beating an Indonesian duo for the women’s pairs gold.
Iran’s proud taekwondo record was burnished by towering Olympic champion Arian Salimi, who bested Uzbek Marat Mavlonov for the +80kg gold, three years after taking silver at Hangzhou.
“I love pain, I love fighting and I love my life,” said the tough 22-year-old.
Anti-doping testers said two more athletes had failed drug tests, dealing provisional suspensions to Tajik tennis player Issamjon Sharifov and Kazakh middle-distance runner Aiana Bolatbekkyzy.
In a huge programme of 469 gold medals, the final two will be contested on Sunday in the equestrian in Tokyo before the Games end with a closing ceremony at Nagoya’s Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
China will top the table easily once again. They had 169 golds among 341 medals at the end of the day’s competition, with second-placed Japan on 83 golds.
Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026
