Seyoung Ahn. Yonhap News
The last ‘big event’ of 2026, the ‘Year of Sports’, is the Asian Games.
All 45 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are expected to participate in the Asian Festival held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan from September 19 to October 4. It was reported in September last year that North Korea announced its intention to participate in the Asian Games and would send a large delegation of athletes. There can also be expectations of a joint entrance by the North and South Korean athletes at the opening and closing ceremonies.
There are 460 gold medals in 41 events at stake in this competition. At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, Korea ranked third overall (42 gold, 59 silver, 89 bronze) following Japan (52 gold, 67 silver, 69 bronze). In this competition, they will aim for second place overall in the Summer Asian Games 12 years after the 2014 Incheon Games (79 gold, 70 silver, 79 bronze).
Ahn Se-young, the world’s No. 1 badminton player, aims to become the first Korean singles player to win two consecutive titles. Winning two consecutive titles at the Asian Games is a record that even the ‘legendary’ Su-Hyun Bang, who won Korea’s first ever gold medal in singles at the 1994 Hiroshima Games, could not achieve.
Ahn Se-young advanced to the finals at the Hangzhou tournament three years ago without giving up a single set. Despite limping on his knees against his ‘old enemy’ Chen Yufei (China), he roared with victory. After that win, Ahn Se-young became stronger. Last year, she won 11 gold medals for the first time in women’s singles at an international competition, proving that she is ‘world class’. In Nagoya, a new chapter in Asian Games history is being prepared.
Swimming was the sport that brought the most medals at the Hangzhou Games. A total of 22 medals were won, including 6 gold, 6 silver, and 10 bronze medals, ushering in a renaissance in Korean swimming.
Hwang Sun-woo won Korea’s first ever relay gold medal and also won the 200m freestyle gold medal 13 years after Park Tae-hwan. Kim Woo-min made history together by winning three gold medals in the 400m, 800m freestyle, and 800m relay.
Hwang Sun-woo, who performed poorly at the Paris Olympics with no medals, improved his condition again by winning four gold medals, including three new Korean records, at the National Sports Festival in October last year. In particular, he broke the Asian record held by China’s Sun Yang in the 200m freestyle. Kim Woo-min, who has been active on the world stage since the Hangzhou Games, aims to become the first four-time winner in Korean swimming history at this competition.
Archery, the ‘biggest sport’ that swept five gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, dreams of sweeping all events in the recurve event at the Asian Games. Korean archery won 46 gold medals at the Asian Games. In particular, women’s archery is attempting to win its 8th consecutive team event. Kim Woo-jin and Im Si-hyeon are considered representative players, but they must first pass the national team selection process, which is said to be more difficult than winning an Olympic gold medal. The protagonist will be selected in a selection contest that continues until March of this year.
Woo Sang-hyuk, a high jumper in track and field, is aiming for his first gold medal at the Asian Games, having won only two silver medals (Jakarta and Palembang in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023). Oh Sang-wook, the star of the men’s fencing saber, will defend his Asian Games title, and Shin Yu-bin, who won the gold medal in table tennis and women’s doubles, will challenge for the top again. In modern pentathlon, Jeon Woong-tae attempts to win his third consecutive Asian Games title.
