Kang Jun-i wins South Korea's first-ever Asian Games skateboarding gold

By Kim Boram

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's 17-year-old skateboarder Kang Jun-i won the gold medal in the men's street event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, becoming the first South Korean to win an Asiad title in skateboarding.

Kang scored 180.85 points in the event's final at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan.

He edged out two Japanese skateboarders, Toa Sasaki and Ginwoo Onodera, who earned 172.35 and 168.11, respectively.

Skateboarding made its Asian Games debut in 2018.

Skateboarding involves riders performing tricks, with competitors judged on the difficulty, execution and originality of their tricks.

Athletes compete in two disciplines: street, where they perform tricks on a course featuring stairs, rails and other obstacles, and park, where they compete on a course with complex shapes and transitions.

In the run section, where skaters perform a series of tricks using obstacles on the course, Kang scored 88.45 points on his third attempt.

In the trick section, where skaters perform individual tricks to showcase their skills, Kang failed to complete his first two attempts but recorded 92.40 points on his third, bringing his total to 180.85 points.

Kang, who will turn 18 on Tuesday, shed tears after winning the competition and again during the medal ceremony.

"It's like a dream. It's incredible," Kang said during a mixed-zone interview.

"I told my friends that I could laugh or cry on my birthday based on my Asian Games results," he said. "I'm so happy with my first gold medal at an international competition and South Korea's first gold in skateboarding."

After falling on his second trick attempt, Kang told himself that his Asian Games campaign should not end there.

"I thought, I trained so hard that I couldn't stop here," he said. "I looked up into the stands and found my mom. I braced myself, went for the third attempt, and I made it."

The teenage skateboarder is now eyeing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he hopes to become the first South Korean Olympic medalist in the sport.

"My biggest goal is to finish first at the LA Olympics," he said.