South Korean men’s doubles tennis pair Nam Ji-sung and Park Ui-seong are set to face host nation Japan in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games final on Dec. 2, aiming for the country’s first gold medal in the event in 12 years. The final is scheduled as the first match on the center court at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan, with a victory putting South Korea back atop the podium for the first time since Lim Yong-kyung and Chung Hyeon won gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Reaching the Asian Games Final
Seeded second in the tournament, Nam Ji-sung of Dangjin City Hall and Park Ui-seong of Daegu City Hall advanced through the opening round with a bye before securing a comeback win against Japan’s Jay Friend and Kokoro Isomura in the second round. They subsequently defeated Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro and Maximus Jones in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the South Korean duo outlasted Chinese Taipei’s He Chen-rui and Hsu Yu-hsiu in a 1-hour, 33-minute battle, prevailing 2-1 (7-6, 2-6, 11-9) through a decisive match tiebreak after splitting the first two sets.
Challenger Tour Familiarity Against Japanese Opponents
Their opponents in the gold-medal match, Yusuke Kusuhara and Shunsuke Nakagawa of Japan, advanced by defeating China’s Zhang Fuming and Zhang Tianhui 2-1 (6-4, 0-6, 10-6) in the semifinals. Kusuhara and Nakagawa previously eliminated South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo and Hong Seong-chan in a tight second-round match tiebreak, setting up the cross-border final clash. Nam and Park previously faced Kusuhara and Nakagawa in March at an ATP Challenger event in Yokkaichi, Japan, where the South Korean pair suffered a 1-2 (6-4, 5-7, 6-10) comeback loss.
Carrying South Korea’s Remaining Tennis Hopes
Nam and Park have maintained a steady partnership on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, claiming two tournament titles together. Their progression to the final comes as other South Korean singles and doubles entries exited the tournament early, leaving the men’s doubles pair as the nation’s final remaining medal contender in tennis with at least a silver secured. At the previous 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo and Hong Seong-chan earned a bronze medal in the same discipline.
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