South Korean gymnast Yang Hak-seon has made progress in his recovery from a leg injury, his coach said Sunday, reviving hopes for a team gold at the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon.
Yang, the 2012 Olympic champ in the men's vault, hurt his right hamstring right before the start of the continental event, currently underway in this western port city.
But his condition has "drastically improved," said coach Oh Sang-bong, and a full day of rest on Saturday must have helped.
"The trainer thinks he injured his right hamstring," Oh said. "But we don't know exactly where he's hurt since we haven't taken him to the hospital."
Oh said Yang remained determined to compete in the team event, adding, "He seems to feel great responsibility for his teammates."
South Korea will begin its rotation with the pommel horse and move on to ring, vault, parallel bars and floor exercise.
Yang will compete in all but the pommel horse and likely forego his original "Yang" or "Yang 2" in favor of "Yeo 2" or "Lopez,"
which are easier. The team event doubles as the individual preliminaries. Only the top eight gymnasts in each discipline can proceed to the individual finals slated for Wednesday and Thursday.
South Korea hopes to win at least two golds in artistic gymnastics -- one by Yang in the vault and another in the team event. The latter would be the country's first in the discipline at the Asian Games. (Yonhap)
