Taiwan's Lin wins Asian Games gold two years after Olympics gender row

NAGOYA, Japan - Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting won an Asian Games gold in her new weight category two years after she was caught up in a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics, while Japan edged out North Korea via penalties in the women's football final in the penultimate day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Games on Friday.

Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif both won gold in Paris amid a dispute over their eligibility. Lin was cleared to compete earlier this year after World Boxing completed a review of her sex-eligibility status.

"After the Paris Olympics, I took a little bit of a break," the 30-year-old said.

"Coming back to boxing, I wanted to exceed my performance from the Paris Olympics, try to find my new self and have better capabilities in boxing."

Her Olympic title and her first Asian Games crown, won in Hangzhou, both came at 57kg. In Japan Lin moved up to 60kg, and at the Nishio Gymnasium she used her reach and counter-punching to beat China's Yang Chengyu 5-0 for her second Asian Games gold.

Despite her pedigree, Lin said the heavier division made her feel like a novice again.

"In this competition, I'm like a newborn calf... or a little white rabbit that has wandered into a great forest," she said.

"None of my opponents was ordinary. Every one of them was incredibly strong and powerful.

"I don't think there was a single one of my four bouts where I didn't end up on the ground at some point. That shows just how difficult this competition was."

China's Olympic champion Wu Yu also moved up a weight and won the women's 51kg gold, one kilogram above the class she won in Paris.

"That one kilogram makes an enormous difference. Back then, I even cut my hair to lose 0.3 kilograms," Wu said after beating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam in the final.

"This time I'm one kilogram heavier, and my condition is much better in every way.

"Making weight meant going hungry every day and doing extra training on top of that, and it was genuinely hard. With that extra kilogram, I can at least get proper nutrition."

PERFECT BIRTHDAY PRESENT

India's Lovlina Borgohain marked her 29th birthday by beating China's Bao Ziyi for the women's 75kg title, one of three Indian boxers to win gold on Friday.

"I think it's the first time that I get a present for myself," she said.

At the Shizuoka Stadium, Japan battled past North Korea 5-3 via penalties after a 2-2 stalemate at the end of extra time.

In regulation time, the hosts drew first blood through Ueno Mami's first-half strike but North Korea snatched the lead after the break with Jong Kum and Jon Ryong Jong finding the net.

Hanon Nishio chipped in over the diving North Korean goalkeeper in the 86th minute to draw level and force extra time.

On the wrestling mat, India's Sujeet Kalkal conjured a stunning display to set alight the competition.

Kalkal stunned Japan's Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in the semi-finals and reversed a 9-2 deficit in the final against Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev to win the men's 65kg freestyle gold.

Malaysia took both the men's and women's squash team golds, giving them four of the five titles on offer at the Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena.

—JKC, GMA News