'17-year-old surprise gold medalist' Kang Jun-i makes new history for Korean skateboarding... becomes the first man in street history to achieve this feat [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was a surprise gold medal. High school skateboarder Kang Jun-i (17, Yeongdeungpo High School) claimed the Asian Games gold medal by defeating Japan's strong competitors on home soil, writing a new chapter in Korean skateboarding history.

On the 27th, at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's street skateboarding final held at the Aichi Sky Expo Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Kang Jun-i scored a total of 180.85 points and secured first place among eight competing athletes with confidence.

This marks the first time ever that Korean skateboarding has won a gold medal at the Asian Games. Since skateboarding was officially adopted as a competition event for the first time at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, this is the first time a Korean athlete has reached the top of the podium.

Born in 2008 and currently attending Yeongdeungpo High School, Kang Jun-i remained calm amidst fierce competition against Japan's star athletes who had the advantage of competing on home ground, successively executing high-difficulty tricks and shaking up the standings.

The silver medal went to Sasaki Toa, who scored 172.35 points, while Onodera Kinnu (both from Japan) claimed the bronze medal with a score of 168.11 points. Fourth place was taken by Basral Graito Futomo of Indonesia, who recorded 151.41 points.

Lee Jun-seung of Korea, who also advanced to the final stage, finished fifth in the tournament with 124.95 points. Following him, Tawatchai Siangoueng of Thailand placed sixth with 112.75 points, Kirin Petkiri of Thailand took seventh with 107.39 points, and Lin Honghao of China remained in eighth place with 46.38 points.

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*This content was translated by AI.