[Asian Games] North Korea Wins Gold Medal After 5 Years... 3 Golds in Gymnastics and Shooting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korea, returning to international multi-sport competitions after five years, won three medals in a single day, climbing to the middle ranks in the Hangzhou Asian Games standings.

On the 28th, North Korea won three medals in the women's apparatus finals of artistic gymnastics held at the Huanglong Sports Center in Hangzhou, China. An Chang-ok won two gold medals on vault and uneven bars, while Kim Sun-hyang also took home a silver medal on vault.

The first gold medal of the competition was won in the 10m running target team shooting event. North Korea earned three gold medals, five silver medals, and four bronze medals. As a result, their medal ranking rose nine places from 19th to 10th as of 7:50 PM.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, An Chang-ok scored an average of 14.049 points in the first and second vault attempts, the only athlete among the eight competitors to score in the 14-point range, securing the overall victory. She also scored 14.266 points on the uneven bars, the only one to reach the 14-point range there.

North Korea did not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, citing the prevention of COVID-19 entering the country. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that "all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) must participate in the Olympics according to the Olympic Charter, which North Korea violated." As a result, North Korea's NOC status was suspended until the end of 2022, barring them from international competitions.

With the IOC's sanctions lifted this year, North Korea returned to competition for the first time in five years since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

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