Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Incheon: Korea Republic won the gold medal at the 17th Asian Games on Thursday after claiming a 1-0 extra-time win over DPR Korea in the final at the Incheon Munhak Stadium.
In a keenly-contested clash that saw both sides struggle to carve out any real scoring chances, the game went into extra-time following a goalless 90 minutes.
And with neither team able to find the breakthrough for most of the additional half-hour, it looked as though it would take the dreaded penalty shootout to decide the winner.
However, in the 121st minute, DPR Korea keeper Ri Myong-guk flapped at a corner and although Lee Yong-jae's initial effort was cleared off the line, Rim Chang-woo was on hand to blast home the loose ball and win it for the South Koreans.
The triumph meant that Korea Republic have now been crowned outright champions of the Asian Games twice following their previous win in 2002, while they shared the gold medal with Burma – now known as Myanmar – and the North Koreans in 1970 and 1978 respectively.
Meanwhile, Iraq claimed the bronze medal after defeating Thailand 1-0 in the third-place playoff at the Incheon Football Stadium.
The only goal of the game arrived three minutes after the hour mark, when Ali Adnan's out-swinging corner was met by Younis Mahmoud with an unstoppable header past Kawin Thamsatchanan.
Photo: AFP