Cyclist Wong lands first Doha gold for Hong Kong

DOHA, Dec 3 (Reuters) Cyclist Wong Kam Po captured Hong Kong's first gold medal of the Doha Asian Games by racing to victory in the road race event today.

The 33-year-old, who won gold in the 1998 Bangkok Games and bronze in Pusan four years ago, edged out youngsters Mehdi Sohrabi of Iran and South Korea's Park Sung-baek in a three-way sprint finish near Doha bay.

The trio were credited with the same time of 3:45:02 for the course, which was slashed by 43.3 km to 156.4 km due to heavy winds.

''Even though long distance is our advantage, we were not affected by the wind or the reduction of the laps,'' the seasoned rider told reporters.

Wong, strong in the climbing sections, held back after another cyclist took a tumble before gradually exerting control over the last 25 km.

''I think I will probably participate in Beijing (Olympics),'' he said. ''I will probably participate in the track events.'' Officials had been concerned the strong winds would have kept the competitors riding into the night.

''The predicted high winds would have had the cyclists finishing in the dark, so we reduced the race from four laps to three for the safety of the riders,'' competition manager Graham Sycamore said.

REUTERS PDS VC2114