Speedsters rally for golden finish

The Korean White Tigers roared on the short-track, while the host tapped its squad's deep talent to reign supreme over distance, capping a dramatic opening day of skating at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin.

Day 1 of skating finals at the Games has underlined the world-class prowess of the Republic of Korea in short-track speed skating, while celebrating an equally fruitful campaign for the host delegation in speed skating at the long-track oval just across the street.

So eager to get the entire delegation off to a flying start, China's short-track speed skating squad unfortunately left a capacity crowd at the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center deflated on Saturday morning, after star skater Lin Xiaojun's accidental fall with one lap to go in the 2,000m mixed relay Final A cost the host its commanding lead and allowed the Koreans to come from behind to win the first gold of the Harbin Games.

The mighty ROK contingent, known as the White Tigers on the rebranded ISU World Tour, carried that momentum forward to collect three more golds in the men's and women's 1,500m and the women's 500m, convincingly proving its elite status at the top of the physically contested sport.

Hot fan favorite Lin, who met enthusiastic fans chanting his name wherever he appeared on Saturday, redeemed himself by staying composed throughout a chaotic men's 500m final — the race had to be restarted twice due to collision penalties — to offer some solace to the home fans with a gold.