(URGENT) Pentathlete Seong Seung-min wins S. Korea's 1st gold at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan, September 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea claimed its first medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday when cyclist Shin Ji-eun secured bronze in the women's individual time trial event. The 24-year-old finished third with a time of 36:56.14 at the Shinshiro Cycling Road Course, located 60 kilometers east of Nagoya. Rinata Sultanova of Kazakhstan won gold with a time of 36:23.72, while Zhang Hao of China claimed silver in 36:28.40.

Shin expressed confidence in her performance, stating that she felt confident throughout her preparation for the competition. She acknowledged this as her first individual race at an Asian Games and expressed gratitude for the result. Sunday marked the beginning of medal races following the opening ceremony from the previous night.

In Sunday's race, Shin's first lap took 12:58.31, ranking her fourth. She moved up to third after completing her second lap in 11:51.39 and finished the race with a time of 12:06.44 to secure her bronze medal. Initially, Shin was unaware that she would be in medal contention. She admitted feeling exhausted and simply wanted to cross the finish line as soon as possible.

Shin, who entered the Asian Games in strong form, previously achieved third place in the individual road race and fourth in the individual time trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Saudi Arabia in February. She also won bronze in omnium at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in the Philippines in March, and contributed to South Korea's fourth place finish in team pursuit. For the upcoming Asian Games, Shin will now shift focus to track events, including madison, omnium, and team pursuit.

Following her medal win, Shin plans to return to South Korea this week before heading back to Japan for the track races beginning September 29. She emphasized her desire to compete with even more confidence and deliver outstanding performances in the track events.