At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, South Korea’s delegation secured multiple medals on Sept. 29, highlighted by world-ranking badminton victories, a historic kurash gold, and silver finishes across weightlifting and boxing events.
An Seyoung Claims Historic Badminton Singles Two-Peat
World No. 1 badminton player An Seyoung captured the women’s singles gold medal at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium on Sept. 29 by defeating world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 2-0 with set scores of 21-17 and 21-9. Having previously won at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, An became the first singles player in Asian Games history to successfully defend the women’s singles title.
Lee Sohee and Baek Hana End 24-Year Women’s Doubles Drought
Earlier in the badminton tournament, the women’s doubles pair of Lee Sohee and Baek Hana defeated world No. 1 Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China 2-1, recording set scores of 26-28, 21-18, and 21-18 in the final. After claiming silver at the Hangzhou Games, the duo secured the top podium spot, marking the first time a South Korean pair won the Asian Games women’s doubles gold since Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won achieved the feat at the 2002 Busan Games.
Kim Minyoung Wins South Korea’s First Kurash Gold
In kurash, a folk wrestling discipline originating in Central Asia that joined the Asian Games program at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, Kim Minyoung secured a historic victory. Competing in the women’s over-87kg category at the Aichi Prefectural Budokan, Kim defeated Ssu Liu-Ling of Taiwan 5-0 in the final to claim the country’s first-ever gold medal in the sport.
Park Hyejeong Takes Heavyweight Weightlifting Silver
Weightlifting powerhouse Park Hyejeong of Goyang City Hall claimed the silver medal in the women’s over-86kg division with a 133kg snatch, 167kg clean and jerk, and a total of 300kg. The 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games champion aimed for consecutive titles but finished second behind Chinese weightlifting champion Li Wenwen following a tightly contested battle.
Boxing and Sport Climbing Advance to Medal Bouts
In boxing, men’s 60kg competitor Jang Donghwan and men’s 80kg competitor Kim Minseong advanced to their respective weight class finals by winning their semifinal bouts 5-0 on Sept. 29, guaranteeing at least silver medals ahead of the finals scheduled for Oct. 2. Meanwhile, in sport climbing, Lee Dohyun topped the men’s bouldering semifinal with 99.7 points to reach the final alongside Chon Jongwon, who placed sixth with 74.7 points. In the women’s speed qualifiers, Jung Jimin finished second with a time of 6.25 seconds and Seong Hanareum placed sixth at 6.84 seconds, securing spots in the final round.
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