South Korea has garnered three gold medals in taekwondo at the ongoing Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

On Friday, Yoo Young-dae, the 2006 Asian championship winner, beat Thailand's Tewawetchapong Nattapong to clinch the men's flyweight division title. In addition, Hwang Kyung-seon and Kwon Eun-kyung took their first Asiad titles by outscoring their opponents from the Philippines and Taiwan.

South Korea is participating in 12 of the 16 taekwondo classes and has picked up four of the eight golds awarded so far.

In 2002, South Korea picked up a record 12 gold medals, all that were offered that year in the martial art.

Also on Friday, South Korea added two golds in the men's tennis doubles and all-women's bowling events, but it still lags behind Japan, which has won 31 gold medals. China holds firm at the top spot with 94 golds.

South Korean officials said, however, it is only a matter of time before they overtake Japan, as swimming, a strong sport for Japan, ended its six days of action on Thursday.

In field hockey, the defending champions South Korea defeated China 3-0 in a preliminary Group B women's match, securing a berth to the semifinals. The game was watched carefully, as China defeated eight-time Olympic champions India on Tuesday for the biggest upset in this year's Asiad.