Countries scoop shooting gold; eSports poised to see first-ever medallist at major event
\nHANGZHOU
\nIndonesia, South Korea and hosts China scooped gold at the Asian Games on Tuesday as eSports fans eagerly awaited the outcome of the first gaming medal ever at a major multisports event.
\nAll the early titles and tension on day three in Hangzhou came on the shooting range.
\nMuhammad Sejahtera Putra topped the podium for Indonesia in the 10m running target mixed run, ahead of North Korea\u2019s Kwon Kwan Gil and South Korea\u2019s Jeong You-jin.
\nIt was the 26-year-old\u2019s second gold of the Games \u2013 Indonesia\u2019s only titles so far.
\nSouth Korea also tasted victory, edging Kazakhstan and Indonesia in the air rifle running target mixed team event, while world champions China won the 10m air rifle mixed team competition.
\nShooter Huang Yuting, just 17, helped China to their 40th gold medal so far and said it had been an invaluable experience.
\n\u201cI think I had a lot of ups and downs in my mood but I still strengthened my will and stabilised my emotions,\u201d she said.
\nESports is making its debut as a medal event in the Chinese city, seen as a major step towards Olympic status, with renowned gamers such as South Korea\u2019s Lee \u201cFaker\u201d Sang-hyeok in action.
\nTitles are up for grabs in seven titles, including League of Legends and EA Sports FC Online.
\nArena of Valor is the first on the line at the futuristic and packed Hangzhou Esports Centre, with China and Malaysia fighting it out for a historic gold.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been an unexpected journey,\u201d said Malaysian gamer Lai Chia Chien of his country making the final, meaning they are guaranteed at least silver.
\nUnderlining just how popular it is, eSports is the only Asiad competition where tickets were allocated through an initial online lottery.
\nIn other action, defending champions Hong Kong squeezed into the men\u2019s rugby sevens final after edging an extra-time thriller against Japan 12-7.
\nTheir reward is a clash with South Korea for gold after the Koreans crushed China 36-7 in the second semi-final.
\nTaekwondo titles are also up for grabs, while China are favourites in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s team table tennis deciders. Iran face China in the men\u2019s volleyball final.
\nTrack cycling gets under way at the Chun\u2019an Jieshou Sports Centre Velodrome, with the men\u2019s and women\u2019s team sprint medals on the line. China are defending both titles.
\nAnother six golds are at stake in the swimming pool, where the hosts have dominated so far, securing 11 of the 14 titles.
\nBut Hong Kong\u2019s Olympic and world silver medallist Siobhan Haughey is raging favourite to triumph in the 100m freestyle final after a world-class 200m swim on Monday.
\nShe topped the heats in 54.27secs and will be looking to better her own Asian record of 52.27 in the final, set when she came second to Australian superstar Emma McKeon at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. Japanese defending champion Rikako Ikee \u2013 who won six gold at the last Asian Games before being diagnosed with leukaemia \u2013 will not be challenging her.
\nIkee was part of the Japan team that finished a distant second to China in the 4x100m freestyle relay on Sunday but said afterwards she had a cough. She was a no-show in the 100m heats.
\nLike Haughey, China\u2019s Wang Shun is aiming to bag a double after his stunning swim in the 200 medley on Sunday made him the third-fastest man in history.
\nHe faces a battle in the 400m medley against three-time world champion Daiya Seto of Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Countries scoop shooting gold; eSports poised to see first-ever medallist at major event HANGZHOU Indonesia, South Korea and hosts China scooped gold at the Asian Games on Tuesday as eSports fans eagerly awaited the outcome of the first gaming medal ever at a major multisports event. All the early titles and tension on day three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-358579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n