Too late: a Korean back can't stop Akihito Yamada scoring his last minute gold-winning try

Eight years ago Korea broke Japanese hearts with a comeback in the first ever Asian Games sevens final, but in a thrilling end-to-end spectacle at Al-Arabi Sports Club Japan got their revenge with two late tries to clinch a 27-26 victory.

Akihito Yamada proved the hero for Japan with his try in the corner with the last play of the match completing their amazing recovery from 26-17 down with less than two minutes on the clock against the two-time defending champions on Monday 11 December.

However Yamada’s try was only the crowning moment and would have meant little had Hiroki Yoshida not scored to cut the deficit to just four points, spurring the Japanese on in search of that match winning try. The drop-kicked conversion came back off the posts – just as one had in the first half – and it looked as though those misses would condemn Japan to more Asian Games heartbreak.

However the Koreans had not counted on Yamada’s dive for the corner and as the Japanese celebrations began seconds later with the final whistle, their players sat with heads in their hands, unable to believe they had just lost.

Korea had raced into a 14-0 lead within five minutes, Kim Jong Su and Kwak Chul Woong touching down, and appeared on course to maintain their perfect record in the Games.

Their opponents though had other ideas and fought back to trail 14-10 at half time with tries by captain Eiji Yamamoto and Hiroki Yoshida, the latter all the more remarkable given they were a man down with Yamamoto in the sin-bin.

Kim and Yamada traded tries in the second half, taking the score to 19-17 in Korea’s favour, before Lee Myung Geun appeared to have won the match with his side’s fourth try of the game, only a minute after coming on as a replacement.

However Japan were not finished and brought the crowd to their feet, giving a sevens tournament that had witnessed many one-sided affairs, the perfect finale to showcase the spectacle the sport can be when played with pace and skill.

“I was hoping somehow to score. That was the aim ‘til the last minute and that turned the match in our favour. I’m grateful to all my teammates for giving me the chance [to score]. We’re ecstatic to win the gold,” Yamada said.

Amid the celebrations, Japan coach Jun Sano duly received a soaking with water bottles as his players threw him into the air and, once he’d dried off, he revealed he had always had faith in his players.

“It was amazing, unbelievable,” Sano said. “The boys never gave up and had a big heart, and that’s why we achieved the gold medal. I thought it was going to be a tough game. I told the boys, ‘don’t worry, you can do it’.

“It’s a very important thing for Japan rugby to be Asian champions. We need to now move on to the next level. This is not the goal, but it’s opened the door for us to rugby at the highest international level.”

Korean captain Kim Hyung Ki, who had featured in their 1998 and 2002 wins, added: “I don’t have anything to say. I feel sorry for the Korean people because we lost and couldn’t get the gold medal.

“I regret that we have to wait for four years to try and regain the gold medal. I wanted to finish the Games on a high and then retire. It’s a pity to only get the silver medal.”

China may have lost the semifinal to Korea, but their players still had cause to celebrate after they scored two late tries to pip Chinese Taipei to the bronze medal with a 19-12 victory.

Wang Jiacheng’s try gave China the lead in the second minute, but Chinese Taipei hit back on the stroke of half time through Tung Yuan Hsiang, although Chang Wei Cheng’s missed conversion gave China a 7-5 lead at the break.

Chinese Taipei took the lead after pressuring their opponents into an error metres from their own line, Pan Chih Ming the recipient of the lost ball for an easy try to give his side the lead for the first time at 14-12.

However the lead did not last long, Zhang Zhiqiang sprinting in from his own half to put his side back in front. As the clock then ticked down, Chinese Taipei tried to force it deep in their own half and threw a terrible pass to gift Li Yang a try.

The final whistle sparked the Chinese celebrations at their first medal in Asian Games rugby – their previous best having been fifth in 2002 – and the tears for Chinese Taipei, the silver medallists four years ago.

In the first match of the night, something had to give as India and Qatar met in the ninth place playoff. Neither side had scored a try on their Asian Games debut in the pool stages, both suffering some of the heaviest defeats in the event’s history.

India scored first, Puneeth Krishna Murthy touching down after two minutes. Qatar though enjoyed their own piece of history with time up in the first half, Abdulkarem Al Muhannadi scoring their first ever try.

To the delight of the home fans in the crowd, Al Muhannadi outpaced the Indian defence to touch down. Sadly though there was to be no first victory for Qatar, India running in two more tries to avoid the wooden spoon of ninth place.

“I scored the first ever international try for Qatar and this establishes me in Qatar rugby history,” enthused Abdulkarem Al Muhannadi afterwards.

India though finished only one place higher than Qatar after losing the seventh place playoff 29-0 to Thailand. Nantawat Wongwanichslip, the Thailand captain, scored four of his side’s five tries in the rout.

The young Thai team though will have been disappointed to finish only seventh, given they have won the bronze medal in the two previous Asian Games that have featured sevens.

By contrast Hong Kong, China had cause to celebrate after beating Sri Lanka 35-5 in the fifth place playoff, giving them a significant improvement on their eighth place finish in Busan four years ago.

Five different players scored tries for Hong Kong, China in Mark Wright, Keith Robertson, Rowan Varty, Tsang Hing Hung and Jeff Wong – the latter also earning a trip to the sin-bin during the match.

Sri Lanka avoided the whitewash in the dying seconds, captain Senjeewa Jayasinghe crossing the line for a consolation score as his side again had to settle for sixth place in the Asian Games.