(Asiad) Jun Woong-tae misses 3rd Asiad individual gold in modern pentathlon, but helps S. Korea retain team title

ANJO, Japan, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Jun Woong-tae had won two consecutive gold medals in the men's individual modern pentathlon at the previous Asian Games, but failed to extend his winning streak to three at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

In the sport's final held at Anjo Sports Park in Anjo, just southeast of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan, on Sunday, Jun finished second with 1,595 points after competing in five events -- fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing and laser run, a combination of running and shooting.

However, South Korea won the team event as his teammates, Lee Jong-hyeon and Seo Chang-wan, came in third and fifth, respectively, giving the country a combined 4,779 points, ahead of China with 4,768 and Kazakhstan with 4,647.

In the team event, the scores of the top three athletes from each country in the individual competition are combined to determine the medal standings.

It was South Korea's second consecutive gold medal in the modern pentathlon team event, following its victory at the previous Asian Games, where Jun won both the individual and team gold medals.

"I know I failed to win individual gold, but I think this gold medal in the team event is more meaningful to me," Jun said in a mixed-zone interview. "This medal could help modern pentathlon make its presence felt more strongly in South Korea."

For the 31-year-old pentathlete, the Asian Games had been on his mind as his last, so he gave his all in the final laser run, in which he started in ninth place but finished second.

"I thought I was out of medal contention ahead of the laser run," Jun said. "But the coach told me that this could be my last competition, so I got focused and did my best."

However, Jun said he will continue competing in the sport because he feels a responsibility to promote it to the public.

"I will do my best and work toward the next L.A. Olympics," he said. "I think a growing number of people are aware of our sport after seeing us compete at multisport events and win medals. This is what I can do."