(Asiad) Cho, Kim surprise gold rush with South Korea's 1st Asiad double

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- Team South Korea had its first two double gold medalists at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, the sixth day since the medal race began.

They were not swimmers, shooters or fencers, who are traditionally strong gold medal collectors at the Asian Games.

Paddlers Cho Gwang-hee and Kim Hyo-bin became the first multiple gold medalists in the South Korean delegation after finishing first in the men's kayak double (K2) 500-meter event at Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Miyoshi, just east of the main host city of Nagoya.

They also won the gold medal in the men's kayak four (K4) 500m race the previous day.

When the national anthem was played during the medal ceremony after the K2 500m event, Cho and Kim broke down in tears.

"The hard times that we had gone through came across my mind, and emotions crowded in on me," Kim said after the ceremony. Kim, 25, won two gold medals at his Asian Games debut.

Cho, 32, who has competed at the Asian Games since 2014, said he had never imagined winning two golds in the K2 and K4 events after switching from his main kayak single (K1) 200m event, which was excluded from the 2022 Games.

"I thought (winning gold medals) had a less than 10 percent possibility. It was a miraculous day yesterday, and I repeated it today," said Cho. "It took eight years for me to win a gold at the Asian Games, but Hyo-bin won one at his first appearance."

Cho won gold medals in the K1 200m event at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games, while also winning silver in the K2 500m event in 2018 and two silver medals in the K4 500m event at the 2018 and 2022 Games.

"Since I won two silvers in the K2 and K4 events at the Hangzhou Games, I've endured the hard times with confidence that I could beat those players, and finally, I proved it," Cho said. "I'm preparing for the 2028 LA Olympics step by step.

Kayak is part of canoe sport, comprising two disciplines -- canoe sprint and canoe slalom, with kayak events contested in both.

Cho and Kim hoped their multiple medals would help canoeing make its presence felt among South Koreans, and allow canoe athletes to train and compete in a better environment.

"I hope people get to know this sport, canoeing," Kim said. "I also hope that today's achievement will propel canoeing to bring more gold medals at competitions."