“Medal hopefuls” men’s 4x400m relay team disqualified for leaving the baton exchange zone... Team says, “We will appeal” [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] South Korea's men's 4x400m relay team, considered a medal hopeful, was disqualified for a baton exchange error, ending its bid to reach the final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The athletics team immediately appealed the officials' ruling.
The men's 4x400m relay team, consisting of Kim Si-on of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, Joel Jin Nwamadi of Yecheon County Office, Lee Jaesung of Jeonnam Gwangju City Hall and Biwesa Daniel Gasama of Ansan City Hall, finished fourth in Heat 2 of the preliminaries at the competition held at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on the 27th, recording 39.33 seconds.
The team initially appeared to have comfortably secured one of the eight spots in the final after ranking seventh overall across Heats 1 and 2. However, after the race, the officials disqualified South Korea for violating the baton exchange zone. They ruled that the baton had been passed completely outside the exchange zone during the handoff from first runner Kim Si-on to second runner Joel Jin.
Ha Kyung-soo, coach of the athletics relay team, said in an interview with reporters, “We could not accept the ruling that we had gone beyond the zone, so we filed an appeal.” However, because officials' decisions are rarely overturned in athletics, the team is now unlikely to compete in the final scheduled for the 28th.
The team had hoped to improve on South Korea's bronze-medal finish at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, relying on Joel Jin and Biwesa, who had placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the men's 100 meters earlier in the competition. Instead, they were left disappointed in the preliminary round.
The women's 4x400m relay team, meanwhile, secured the last spot in the final. South Korea, featuring Seo Ji-hyun of Jincheon County Office, Kim Seo-yoon of Changwon City Hall, Kim Myeong-ji of Jeongseon County Office and Kim Ju-ha of Siheung City Hall, finished fifth in Heat 2 with a time of 44.94 seconds. The team advanced to the final after ranking eighth overall across the two heats.
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase final, Jo Ha-rim of Mungyeong City Hall finished eighth among the eight competitors with a time of 10:26.06.

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