Igarashi and Ikeda clinch surfing gold at Asian Games

Nagoya – Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi and Mirai Ikeda won gold medals in the men’s and women’s shortboard events, respectively, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday, with surfing making its official debut as a sport at the quadrennial event.

Japan also secured another medal in surfing, with Minami Nonaka securing bronze in the women’s shortboard event.

Igarashi expressed his delight, saying that he managed to put on a good performance.

“I didn’t want surfers from other countries winning in Japan,” said 18-year-old Ikeda.

In athletics, Ko Ochiai brought the host nation its first gold medal in 64 years in the men’s 800-meter race, also finishing with an Asian Games record. “This was all thanks to the boost I got from the massive cheers,” he said.

Elsewhere at the multidiscipline sporting event that is being held mainly in Aichi Prefecture, Japan clinched cycling track silver in the men’s team sprint event.

The Japanese men’s handball team won its first medal in four tournaments after defeating South Korea in a bronze-medal match. Japan’s Sho Sakai, 34, clinched bronze in the men’s 3-meter springboard diving event.