We started at the Water
Polo Final between China and Japan. The Japanese fans had little
to cheer as the Chinese dominated and took the gold medal.
At the main stadium,
the decathlon and track & field events were wrapping up. The
Sri Lankan runner upset Chinese favorite in the 200 meter final to prevent
her from a sweep of the major sprint events.
Meanwhile, the Wushu
finals were underway. Pictured is the long weapon event, which tended
to take a long time to complete. After each performance, the judges
would take up to five minutes to score it, sometimes conferring in the
middle of the mat. Some fans were captivated, others seemed barely
awake.
Arrived at the Men's
Sabre team final in fencing, just in time to catch the end of a very close
gold medal match between Korea and China. In the end, Korea won 45-44
and as the Koreans celebrated, the Chinese looked on in dismay. As
the medals were presented (along with Chaiyo dolls of course) a bag pipe
band prepared to play as part of the event's closing ceremony. How
do bagpipes fit into the Asian Games? Good question.
On the basketball court,
the Korean continued their march toward gold by soundly beating the Kazakhstan
team and in the stands the Korean fans continued their gold medal cheering
by outscreaming anyone else at these Games.
The day ended with the
late night arrival of Ahn Sang Yong, Mayor of Pusan,Korea - host of the
2002 Asian Games. While we waited in the VIP room at Don Muang airport,
we had the opportunity to chat with several members of the Korean delegation.
Click on the names below to listen to our discussions.
Jung
Hoon - Advisor to the Mayor of Pusan for Int'l Relations
Kim
Jung Haeng - Chief of the Korean National Olympic Committee
