Japanese teenagers won three of four gold medals on offer and dominated the inaugural skateboarding competition at the Asian Games on Wednesday, roughly two years before the sport makes its Summer Olympics debut in Tokyo.
Sakura Yosozumi and Kensuke Sasaoka captured the first two gold in the skateboard park competition, while Keyaki Ike won the men's street final to add a third. Kaya Isa won two silvers in both events she competed in.
In the women's park final, 16-year-old Yosozumi earned 66.66 points to top the podium at Jakabaring Sport City in Palembang, while Isa finished runner-up with 58.33 points to complete a 1-2 Japan finish. China's Zhang Xin took bronze.
"I didn't feel pressured. I just wanted to show everyone the way I ride," Yosozumi said. "This has been a great experience ahead of the Tokyo Olympics."
(Sakura Yosozumi)
In men's skateboard park, 19-year-old Sasaoka scored 76.00 in the second of his three runs to secure gold, with two Indonesians, Jason Dennis Lijnzaat and Pevi Permana Putra in second and third, respectively.
"I'm really glad. I saw I was first after my second run, so I was able to go into my third run with ease. I was able to pull off all of my tricks," Sasaoka said.
In the men's street final, Ike came from behind to win a close eight-man contest. Local favorite Sanggoe Darma Tanjung settled for silver only 0.6 point behind, while South Korea's Eun Ju Won took bronze.
"I lost to Sanggoe at a different Asian competition three years ago, so I'm glad. I don't get to see him often but I think we're rivals," Ike said. "I was nervous at first because I was losing but I was able to pick up my momentum and glad I was able to win."
Ike was not able to execute his first trick after going through two runs, but he pulled off his favorite trick on a staircase handrail in his third attempt to earn the day's highest score of 8.9 out of 10.
The 17-year-old, who said the previous day he "needs to win the Asian Games" if he were to compete against the world, said afterward he was relieved to win, despite the small margin.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't win gold," he said. "This gold medal seems a bit heavier than the other ones I've won before."
(Kensuke Sasaoka)
Isa claimed her second silver of the day in the women's street event, won by Margielyn Didal of the Philippines. The final also saw 12-year-old Bunga Nyimas of Indonesia win bronze.
Didal executed in all her five attempts in the tricks category and finished with a total score of 30.4, 5.4 points ahead of Isa, denying Japan a clean sweep of skateboarding gold medals.
"I'm really, really frustrated. I knew (Didal) is one level ahead of me even before the games, and I've prepared solely to do better than her," Isa said. "I saw how great her runs were, so my legs didn't move in my first run. It's also frustrating to not be able to do things I can do in training."
The same two disciplines at the Asian Games -- park and street -- will also be competed at Tokyo 2020.
In the park competition, athletes skate on a hollowed-out course called a "combination pool" containing bowls and pools. In the street competition, skateboarders compete on a street-like course featuring stairs, curbs, slopes and rails. They go through two runs and execute five tricks, with the four-best scores added to decide on the winner.
The scores are based on several criteria, such as the degree of difficulty and consistency in completing tricks and variety of maneuvers.
