Day 13: Hungary win final medal as hosts South Korea top the medal table

Thanks to strong performances in judo, archery, badminton and taekwondo, hosts South Korea surpassed expectations by finishing the university games with 47 gold medals in a superb 108-medal haul.

It was the first time Korea – who had targeted a relatively conservative tally of 25 golds prior to the games – topped a medal table in a Summer Universiade, although they did bring home the most gold medals from the 2017 Winter Universiade in Turin, Italy.

According to officials, Korea’s performance also marked the best result the country has had in any international summer sports competition.

Russia and China both finished with 34 gold medals but the Russians finished second by virtue of their superior total medal tally – 122 to China’s 72.

The final gold medal of the games was won by Hungary, whose men’s water polo team beat Italy 14-13 in a nail-biting final at the Yeomju Indoor Aquatics Centre. The USA edged Serbia 5-4 in the bronze medal match.

A colourful Closing Ceremony under the theme of ‘Sharing the Light’ closed the games and featured more than 900 performers in an impressive spectacle that showcased the best of Korea’s cultural offerings.

Less formal and structured from the Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony at the Gwangju Universiade Main Stadium featured cheerleading and performances from South Korean rock band Dick Punks, K-pop stars SHINee, EXID and Jinusean.

The Universiade cauldron - which was lit jointly by Gwangju-born artistic gymnast Yang Hak-seon and former Major League Baseball All-Star Park Chan-ho during the opening ceremony - was extinguished and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn then declared the Universiade closed ahead of a flurry of fireworks.

The 13-day games featured 12,885 participants from 143 countries - making the 2015 Summer Universiade the largest ever, surpassing the 11,759 who competed in the 2013 event in Kazan, Russia.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Claude-Louis Gallien said that all the athletes and coaches were "very happy" to have competed in the South Korean city of Gwangju.

"It's not a miracle, it's a big, big success," he said. “It's the fruit of a lot of work during the games from 30,000 people on the Organising Committee staff and 20,000 volunteers. They were extremely important."

The next Summer Universiade is scheduled to take place in two years time in Taipei. During the Closing Ceremony the Universiade Flag was given over to Ko Wen-Je, mayor of Taipei.

"At this Universiade, I saw first-hand all the athletes giving their best and fighting to the last minute of each game," Ko said.

"This relentless pursuit of excellence, and most of all, good sportsmanship - whether win or lose - impressed and moved everyone. We will build on the success of Gwangju Universiade as we welcome college athletes from all over the world to make new records in Taipei in 2017."