Park Hyun-su wins bronze in men's rowing

NAGOYA, Japan — In the lightweight men's single sculls rowing event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, Park Hyun-su secured a bronze medal, marking South Korea's inaugural rowing triumph in the city. The 30-year-old rower concluded the 2,000-meter race with a time of 6:53.35 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course, situated approximately 20 kilometers to the west of Nagoya's main city.

Chiu Hin Chun of Hong Kong claimed the gold, finishing ahead of Park with a time of 6:50.32. Amirhossein Mahmoodpour Shahrestani of Iran secured the silver, edging out Park by a mere 0.07 seconds in the final 500 meters. Across the lightweight men's rowing events, competitors must maintain a weight below 72.5 kilograms. Park found himself in third place halfway through the race but managed to surge past Mahmoodpour Shahrestani to claim second position at the 1,500-meter mark.

However, it was the Iranian athlete's fastest split over the final 500 meters that ultimately led to his silver medal triumph, overtaking Park. Park, who previously won gold in this event at the 2018 Asiad, was initially set to compete in the lightweight event during the 2023 Asiad. However, the event was removed from the program before the games commenced but was reinstated for this year's edition.