Cyclist Tsubasa Kitatsuru sped to the men's sprint title on Wednesday, while Ai Kondo and Naoko Kamata capped a successful Asian Games campaign in style with Japan's only sailing gold in the women's 470 event.
Japanese cyclist Tsubasa Kitatsuru pedals in the men's sprint at Aspire indoor arena in the Asian Games on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Kitatsuru won the gold medal by defeating South Korea's Choi Lae Seon in the decider with a time of 10.882 seconds.
KYODO PHOTOIn karate, Japan bagged another handful of medals, including a gold by Yuka Sato in the 60-kg kumite, but there was heartbreak for the Japanese women's soccer team which lost 4-2 on penalties in the final to Asian Games champion North Korea, while Japan's women also fell at the last hurdle in field hockey, going down 1-0 to China.
Kitatsuru recovered from a gaffe in the second of the final's three races to beat South Korea's Choi Lae Seon in the men's sprint, winning the decider in 10.882 seconds after taking the first race in 11.532 and then being relegated to second in the next for interfering with his opponent. The 21-year-old is the fifth Japanese rider in as many Asian Games to win the men's sprint gold.