Lim Ho-won (Sportsnet Korea) and Han Sung-bong (Dalseong County Government) shared gold in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles at the Hangzhou 2022 ParaAsian Games.
The pair defeated Malaysia’s Binyusof Mohamad Yusyazwan and Binborhan Abu Samah 2-0 (6-2 6-3) in two hours and 33 minutes in the men’s doubles final at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on Saturday.
Lim, who won a silver medal in men’s doubles at the 2018 Games in Indonesia, won his second gold medal of the tournament, while Han Sung-bong won his first Para Asian Games medal in gold.
Lim, ranked 16th in the world in wheelchair tennis, and Han, ranked 45th, swept through the Chinese and Thai groups in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to reach the final, where they did not drop a single set.
The pair of Lim Ho-won and Han Sung-bong were in fine form from the first set of the final.
Starting with Han Sung-bong’s serve, the Koreans and Malaysians exchanged dozens of rallies from the first point, but the pair capitalized on a series of unforced errors by their opponents to take the first game.
With a 4-1 lead in the first set, Lim, who was standing in front of the net, let out a loud roar after hitting a forehand volley to the center of the court, followed by an unforced error from his opponent, breaking his opponent’s serve twice in a row.
After taking the first set 6-2, Lim and Han Sung-bong faced a tough fight back from their opponents in the second set.
They broke each other’s service games to tie the game at 3-3, but Lim played a sharp shot in front of the left net that hit the opposite corner to take a 4-3 lead.
Gaining momentum, Lim smashed a powerful shot in front of the net to break.
With gold on the line, Lim and Han pumped their fists in determination and roared louder than ever when their opponent’s backhand shot went wide on the second match point.
Lim burst into tears on the spot, clutching his face, while Han Sung-bong rushed to him and hugged him tightly, basking in his joy. 스포츠토토