Thai BMX Racers Miss Medal Chance After Last-Turn Crash
Thai BMX racers missed medal opportunities at the Asian Games in Japan after crashes in both the men's and women's finals, with a protest over a collision going unsuccessful.
BMX racing at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan on September 28 featured competitions across two gold medal races. The men's event included 12 athletes from 6 nations, divided into two heats of 6 riders each, scoring over three motos with the top four from each heat advancing to the final. The women's event had 11 athletes from 6 nations in two heats, similarly sending eight finalists to the championship round.
In the first round, both Thai men and women performed excellently. Gomet finished first in the opening moto and second in the next two, advancing to the final. Buddhapoom also qualified despite crashing with a South Korean rider in the second moto. The two female cyclists, Chutikarn and Hathaiphet, both secured their places in the final.
In the men's final, Gomet led throughout much of the race and was positioned in the top three as he approached the third turn before the finish line. However, Filipino rider Patrick Bren Co collided with Gomet's rear wheel, causing both to crash. Gomet fell agonizingly short of a medal, while Buddhapoom finished sixth after being caught up in the incident. Japanese rider Asuma Nakagai won gold, followed by silver medalist Kiyoka Higuchi, also from Japan, and bronze medalist Hao Chao Lin.
The Thai coaching staff filed a protest with the head judge over the collision but it was unsuccessful. In the women's event, Chutikarn and Hathaiphet finished sixth and seventh respectively. Gold went to Japan's Sae Hatakeyama, silver to China's Wan Yi Liao, and bronze to Indonesia's Jasmine Azzahra Setyobudhi.
After the competition, General Decha expressed regret that Gomet had been on track for a top-three finish before the accident. He apologized to Thai fans of BMX racing, noting that all four Thai cyclists fought hard and reached the final with medal opportunities, but acknowledged that cycling is unpredictable.
