Kang Jun-i Wins South Korea’s First Asian Games Skateboarding Gold
Seventeen-year-old Kang Jun-i won the men’s street skateboarding title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, becoming the first South Korean athlete to claim an Asian Games gold medal in the sport.
South Korean teenager Kang Jun-i won the men’s street skateboarding gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, delivering the country’s first Asian Games title in the sport.
The 17-year-old finished the final with 180.85 points at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan, about 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya. His total put him ahead of two Japanese competitors in a closely contested medal race.
Toa Sasaki earned silver with 172.35 points, while Ginwoo Onodera took bronze with 168.11. Kang’s winning margin over Sasaki was 8.5 points, and fewer than 13 points separated the gold medalist from third place.
The result made Kang the first South Korean skateboarder to win an Asian Games championship. Skateboarding joined the Asian Games program in 2018, making his victory a milestone in the country’s relatively short history in the sport at the continental event.
Street skateboarding competitions are held on courses designed around urban-style obstacles. Athletes are judged on their runs and individual tricks, with their scores determining the final standings. At Aichi Sky Expo, Kang accumulated the strongest total among the finalists to secure the title ahead of the host nation’s two medalists.
The victory also gave South Korea a gold medal in an event dominated on Sunday’s podium by young skaters from South Korea and Japan. Kang prevailed in Tokoname while the wider Asian Games program was being staged across venues linked to Aichi and Nagoya.
Kang’s age adds another notable dimension to the achievement. At 17, he reached the top of the Asian Games podium in a discipline that rewards technical execution, consistency and the ability to deliver difficult tricks under pressure. His final score was enough to withstand the challenge from Sasaki and Onodera, both competing for Japan.
For South Korea, the medal extends its Asian Games success into a newer Olympic and continental discipline. The country had never previously won the skateboarding title at the Asian Games, despite the sport having appeared at editions since its debut eight years ago.
Kang’s gold establishes a new benchmark for South Korean skateboarding. It also places him among the country’s teenage Asian Games champions, after a final in which he defeated two home competitors and secured the sport’s first continental gold for South Korea.