Harbin: Park Ji-won seized the gold medal in the men's 1,500-meter short track speed skating race at the Asian Winter Games in China on Saturday for his second gold of the competition. Park finished just ahead of the South Korean-born Chinese skater Lin Xiaojun for the gold at Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Multifunctional Hall in Harbin. Another South Korean, Jang Sung-woo, took the bronze medal while the third South Korean in the final, Kim Gun-woo, finished fourth.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park had previously secured victory in the mixed 2,000m relay earlier that Saturday. The competition in the men's 1,500m final was intense, with three South Korean skaters, Park, Jang, and Kim, going up against three Chinese skaters - Lin, Liu Shaoang, and Sun Long.
The race saw early exchanges between the two groups, but eventually, Park, Jang, and Sun emerged at the front with eight laps remaining in the 13 1/2-lap final. Sun and Liu managed to overtake Jang, positioning themselves closely behind Park as the skaters accelerated with five laps to go.
In a crucial moment of the race, with 3 1/2 laps left, Sun made contact with Park using his forearm, which caused him to fall out of the leading pack, leaving Park, Liu, and Jang in the medal positions. Lin made a determined push to reach the top three but was ultimately sandwiched by the two South Koreans at the finish.