Nagoya – Japan’s Asuma Nakai and Sae Hatakeyama won BMX racing gold medals in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday. Nakai, who clinched the top podium spot for the second consecutive Asian Games, said that he felt the pressure of the quadrennial event being held at his home nation. Hyoga Kiuchi finished behind compatriot Nakai in second.
Hatakeyama, who became the first Japanese to clinch gold for the women’s event at the Asian Games, said, “I wanted to win at all costs because the competition was held in Japan.” In track and field, Ryuji Miura brought Japan its first gold medal in 28 years in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing with an Asian Games record in his first-ever appearance at the event. Kazuto Iizawa secured gold in the men’s 1,500-meter event, while 17-year-old Taiju Goto won silver in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Nozomi Tanaka ranked second in the women’s 5,000-meter event.
Elsewhere in the multisport event hosted mainly in Aichi Prefecture, Japan secured artistic swimming silver for the sixth consecutive Asian Games. Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata clinched Japan’s first silver in 52 years for the women’s table tennis doubles. Kie Nakanishi and Rin Iwanaga won bronze in women’s badminton doubles.
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