PSG’s Lee Kang-in helps South Korea to third straight Asian Games gold

HANGZHOU – Paris Saint-Germain star Lee Kang-in helped South Korea win the Asian Games men’s football gold for the third time in a row on Saturday – and earn a military exemption.

The South Koreans retained their crown with a 2-1 victory over Japan, having conceded a goal in the second minute.

But livewire Lee, 22, who joined PSG from Mallorca in the summer, rallied his team and they got back on level terms midway through the first half.

Cho Young-wook scored the winning goal after the break to extend South Korea’s dominance with their sixth title.

“I want to enjoy tonight,” coach Hwang Sun-hong told South Korean media. “There are many situations in a tournament. Anything can happen and I had many things planned. But keeping my cool and focusing on the game paid off.”

Nearly every able-bodied South Korean male is required to perform at least 18 months of military service, but the government rewards Asian Games gold medals and Olympic medals of any colour with an exemption.

South Korea lined up for the final with several players from European clubs, while Japan fielded a team mostly drawn from the domestic J-League.

But it was the Japanese who got off to a sensational start when Kotaro Uchino gave them the lead.

South Korea then took control of the game, with Lee pulling the strings, and Jeong Woo-yeong notched the equaliser in the 26th minute. They continued to press and got their reward in the 56th minute with Cho’s goal.

In badminton, Li Shifeng beat fellow Chinese player Shi Yuqi to win the men’s singles title, while India clinched their first-ever Asiad gold in the sport.

Li beat former world silver-medallist Shi 23-21, 21-13 and celebrated by ripping off his shirt and performing a backflip.

“It was a very exciting match,” the 23-year-old said. “Hopefully the China team can get stronger and stronger, and we can go for gold again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

In the men’s doubles final, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made badminton history for India. They defeated South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho 21-18, 21-16.

In a clash of the titans in the women’s singles final, world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea and China’s third-ranked Chen Yufei fought a tough battle before the former edged ahead to win 21-18, 17-21, 21-8.

China’s Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won the women’s doubles with a 21-18, 21-17 victory over South Korean duo Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee.

In the mixed doubles final, China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-15, 21-14.

There was controversy in the men’s kabaddi final between India and Iran, which was suspended for about an hour over a disputed decision, before the Indians finally sealed the title.

The match was locked at 28-28 in the dying moments when India went on a crucial “raid” for points, with both teams claiming they should get the decision.

That sparked a video review, then a stand-off and the suspension of the final, as officials checked footage and attempted to make a ruling.

The action was put on hold as both teams at different points appeared to refuse to play and argued their case.

Order was eventually restored with the score at 31-29 in India’s favour. Iran reluctantly carried on and soon slumped to a 33-29 defeat, sparking wild Indian celebrations. AFP, REUTERS