S. Korean men's team sets world record

S. Korean men's team sets world record

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Agencies): South Korean men's archery squad set a world record in the final of the team competition on its way to winning the gold medal at the Asian Games yesterday as Indonesia stole a little bit of thunder in the women's event by taking a silver.

The South Koreans -- Chung Jae-hun, Oh Kyo-moon and Park Kyung-mo -- scored a record 259 points in the Olympic-style final round, shattering the previous mark of 254, set by a Japanese team in July, 1994.

The trio beat Japan 259-236 in the final. In a play-off to decide third, Kazakhstan beat China 244-233 to capture the bronze.

Indonesia's team made up of Rusena Gelanteh, Purnama Pandiangan and Dahliana had to be content with silver medal after losing 231-240 to China in yesterday's final.

"They have given their best, after all," said coach Daniel Lumalesil. Indonesia sprang a surprise by edging out Olympic champion South Korea en route to reaching the final.

In wrestling, Iran's Behroz Yari Kalani won his second straight Asian Games welterweight (74kg) freestyle, ousting reigning Olympic champion Park Jang-soon on his way to gold.

Yari Kalani beat Japan's Takuya Ota 2-0 in the gold medal match after a 3-0 semifinal triumph over South Korea's Park. Two other Iranian wrestlers won titles yesterday, giving them six of 10 freestyle crowns.

Park won Olympic gold at Barcelona after a 68kg silver in 1988 in Seoul. He also won the 1990 Asiad 68kg crown, but settled for a bronze here, beating Rouslan Khintchagov 3-0 in the third-place match.

World champion Rassul Khadem won the light-heavyweight (90kg) title by beating Japan's Atsushi Ito 5-0.

Khadem, slowed by a knee injury, still proved he was Asia's best, showing the form he used to win an Olympic silver at 82kg in 1994.

Ebrahim Mehraban completed Iran's golden haul by beating Igor Klimov of Kazakhstan 5-3 for the super heavyweight (130kg) title.

Japan won their first wrestling gold when Takahiro Wada took the featherweight (62kg) title 5-4 over Korea's Jang Jae-sung.

Kazakhstan's Maoulen Mamyrov stopped China's Dege Dun in 2:56 for the flyweight (52kg) gold medal.

World record

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti soldier Fehaid Aldeehani, on leave at the Asian Games while Iraqi troops mass at his homeland's border, captured gold and a world record in the double-trap clay pigeon shooting competition.

Aldeehani and his brother Sayer, who is also in the Kuwaiti military, teamed up on Saturday with Khalaf Altoabi to take gold in the team clay pigeon competition. Fehaid already has a bronze from the individual event.

Aldeehani scored a record-breaking total of 145 in yesterday's 150-target preliminaries and 42 out of 50 in the final round for a tally of 187, pushing Chinese duo Li Bo and Zhang Yongjie into silver and bronze positions.

The Aldeehani brothers, in common with other Kuwaiti sharpshooters, have been eying with concern developments in their homeland since Iraqi troops started massing at the border.

Team officials said their 100-odd members had been on the phone almost non-stop to check on developments.

There was another world record yesterday in the women's clay pigeon competition.

Wang Yujin posted 112 points in the preliminaries and 36 in the final round to capture gold and a world mark, with teammate Gao E shooting for silver and South Korea's Son Hye-kyoung bronze.