The South Korean delegation at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games chases multiple gold medals on July 26, highlighted by a women’s basketball final against Japan and Oh Sang-uk’s bid for his second gold of the games in the men’s sabre fencing team event.
Coming off the delegation’s 800th summer Asian Games gold medal—won by the men’s 3×3 basketball team—Korean athletes look to extend their success across fencing, basketball, baseball, and track and field. Competition schedule details place several key medal events throughout the afternoon and evening in Japan.
Fencing: Oh Sang-uk Leads Sabre Team Toward Fourth Straight Title
The men’s sabre fencing team, anchored by individual gold medalist Oh Sang-uk, enters the team tournament with matches scheduled for a 4:40 p.m. semifinal and a 6:20 p.m. final. Korea has dominated this discipline at the Asian Games, winning gold consecutively from the 2014 Incheon Games through the 2022 Hangzhou Games held in 2023.
Oh, who successfully defended his individual title earlier in the meet, competes alongside teammates Do Gyeong-dong and Park Sang-won. A team victory would secure Oh’s second gold medal of the 2026 competition, matching his double-gold sweep in individual and team events at Hangzhou. The squad also won the men’s sabre team title at the Asian Championships in June.
Basketball: Women’s Team Reaches Final After Upsetting China
The South Korean women’s basketball national team faces Japan at 7:20 p.m. for the gold medal. Korea advanced to the final following an 85-80 semifinal victory over China, overcoming a height disadvantage through a late-game surge of perimeter shooting in the fourth quarter. An outright win against Japan would mark Korea’s first Asian Games title in the sport since the 2014 Incheon Games.
Baseball: Super Round Implications Ahead of China Clash
The national baseball team meets China at 6:30 p.m. needing a victory to secure a path to the gold-medal game. Korea dropped its Super Round opener 0-5 to Japan, leaving its advancement unsettled. A win over China guarantees Korea a spot in the final regardless of the simultaneous outcome between Japan and Taiwan.
If Taiwan defeats Japan alongside a Korean win over China, three teams would finish the Super Round with 2-1 records, forcing a tiebreaker via the Team’s Quality Balance formula calculating runs scored per offensive inning minus runs allowed per defensive inning. Because Korea defeated Taiwan 5-0 in the preliminary group stage and holds a neutral 0 TQB among the tied group, standard game outcomes without extreme margin disparities will keep Korea in contention for the final.
Track and Field: Park Sang-hoon Targets Shot Put Podium
In track and field, 19-year-old shot put prospect Park Shi-hun competes in the men’s final at 8:00 p.m. Park threw 19.10 meters using the senior-division 7.26-kilogram implement at the National Athletics Championships to record the second-best mark in Korean men’s history, and earned a silver medal at the U-20 World Championships with a throw of 20.31 meters. He targets his first international senior medal at his debut Asian Games.
Competitions continue across multiple venues as federations award medals ahead of the closing ceremonies.
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