Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
INCHEON, South Korea, October 4. With the multiple-sport Asian Games finally coming to a close, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino has been named the prestigious Most Valuable Player of the entire competition.
Hagino won medals in all seven events in which he took part, including gold in the 200-meter free, 200-meter IM, 400-meter IM and the 800-meter free relay. He also took silver in the 400-meter free and bronze in the 100-meter back and 200-meter back in South Korea.
“It was especially meaningful for me because I had a chance to compete with big-name stars such as Park Tae-Hwan (of South Korea) and Sun Yang (of China). I’m already happy with my performance, but more thrilled to receive my first-ever MVP,” Hagino told local reporters.
It is just the third time ever that an athlete from Japan has won. Previously, breaststroke king Kosuke Kitajima won in 2002, while track and field athlete Koji Ito took home the top honor in 1998.