South Korea finished second in the finals for the inaugural men's roller skating relay at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday after a premature celebration cost them the gold medal.

In the men's speed skating three-thousand meter relay at Qintang Roller Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Choi In-ho, Choi Gwang-ho, and Jung Cheol-won finished second with a time of four minutes five-point-702 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second behind Chinese Taipei. 

South Korea maintained a strong lead at the start of the 15-lap race, which then narrowed, boiling down to a neck-and-neck sprint between South Korea and Chinese Taipei after ten laps. 

Despite Choi In-ho and Choi Gwang-ho maintaining a slim lead fending off their counterparts until the end, Jung's premature celebration at the end of the race allowed the Chinese Taipei finisher Huang Yu-Lin to extend his skate and narrowly win the race.

The finish was so close that initially, all three South Korean team members celebrated what they believed was a gold medal, but they were left puzzled when they saw the final times on the scoreboard.

After the medal ceremony, Jung apologized for his mistake and that he feels very sorry towards the fans and teammates that had worked very hard together.

South Korea has racked up two gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals in roller skating in Hangzhou.