Korea Eyes Golden Days at 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on October 2-3

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are expected to be a golden opportunity for the South Korean team, with the most gold medals anticipated on October 2 and 3. Finals in archery, taekwondo, golf, sports climbing, and men's soccer will take place over these two days, with a potential of up to 11 gold medals.

South Korea will send a delegation of 1,052 athletes and officials across 41 sports, competing in all events except cricket and padel. This marks the largest number of sports South Korea has participated in at any Asian Games.

The team's goal is to secure between 40 and 45 gold medals to maintain its position in third place overall. Additionally, they aim to close the gap with Japan, which has finished second in the last two Asian Games held in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023.

The Games will officially open with a ceremony on September 19 at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, followed by 16 days of competition across 43 sports and 71 events, with a total of 469 gold medals up for grabs.

The first gold medal for the South Korean team is expected to come on September 20 in modern pentathlon. Seong Seung-min, competing in the women's individual event, is considered a strong contender. She became the first South Korean woman to win the individual title at the 2024 World Championships and later earned a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making her the first Asian woman to reach the Olympic podium in modern pentathlon.

On September 21, swimmers Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo (both from Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province) will compete for gold in the men's 800m freestyle relay. They will also participate in the men's 200m freestyle on September 23, with Hwang aiming for a second consecutive Asian Games title in this event.

The fencing team will begin its gold medal pursuit on September 22, starting with the women's épée individual event, featuring Song Se-ra (Busan Metropolitan City Hall), the 2022 World Fencing Championships winner. On September 23, Olympic double champion Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall) will compete in the men's sabre individual event, with team events scheduled for September 25 (women's épée) and September 26 (men's sabre).

The golden days for the South Korean team are expected to be October 2 and 3, just before the Games conclude on October 4. If all participating athletes excel, the team could secure up to 11 gold medals during this period.

On October 2, the women's recurve team event, mixed team event, and men's recurve team event will take place. The men's team includes Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Hall), Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall), and Lee Woo-seok (Kolon Xten Boys), while the women's team features Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis), Oh Ye-jin (Gwangju Bank), and Lee Yoon-ji (Hyundai Mobis).

In judo, Lee Hyun-ji (Yongin University) will compete for gold in the women's over 78kg category on the same day.

The esports League of Legends team will also compete in the finals on October 2, led by coach Kang Dong-hoon. The team includes 'Zeus' Choi Woo-je, 'Zeka' Kim Geon-woo, 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyung (all from Hanwha Life Esports), 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok, 'Keria' Ryu Min-seok (both from T1), and 'Canyon' Kim Geon-bu (Gen.G). Choi, Lee, and Ryu were part of the gold medal-winning team at the Hangzhou Games.

On October 3, the men's recurve individual event will continue, with Kim Woo-jin, a three-time champion at the 2024 Paris Olympics, leading the charge. Kim, Kim Je-deok, and Lee Woo-seok will compete together for the third consecutive major international multi-sport event.

Taekwondo will aim for two gold medals on this day, with Kang Sang-hyun in the men's over 80kg category and Kim Yoo-jin (Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council) in the women's 57kg category. Kim is a gold medalist from the Paris Olympics.

This year's taekwondo competition features 11 gold medals across eight sparring events, two poomsae events, and one virtual taekwondo event, with South Korea targeting 4-5 golds. The team secured five golds at the previous Hangzhou Games.

Men's golf will also conclude its final round on October 3, with the competition running for four days starting from September 30. Notable participants include Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Sung-hyun, who compete on the PGA Tour, and Moon Do-yeob, who competes in LIV Golf. Additionally, Seo Chae-hyun (Seoul City Hall) will aim for gold in women's lead climbing on the same day.

The men's soccer team is also targeting a spot in the finals on October 3. If they win gold, it will mark their fourth consecutive championship. They started strong with a 4-1 victory over Qatar in their first group match on September 15, thanks to a hat trick from Um Ji-sung (Swansea City). They will face Saudi Arabia on September 22, followed by quarterfinals on September 25 and semifinals on September 30, before aiming for the final.

Both the men's and women's teams will compete in six team sports: baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and hockey. Each sport has one gold medal at stake, but the significance lies in the collective achievements of the teams.

The women's handball tournament will feature a crucial match against Japan on September 27, which is essentially a gold medal decider. South Korea suffered a painful defeat to Japan by 10 points in the finals of the previous tournament. The team will look to avenge that loss on Japanese soil.

The men's handball team will need to finish in the top two of Group B to face the third or fourth place team from Group A in the quarterfinals. Given Japan's strong position in Group A, a Korea-Japan matchup is likely to occur only after the semifinals.

In hockey, the men's team will face Japan in their final group match on September 28, needing to secure a top-two finish to advance to the semifinals. The women's team is in a different group, and both teams must survive the tournament to meet in the semifinals.

There is a high possibility of a Korea-Japan matchup in baseball as well. If South Korea finishes first in Group B, they will likely face Japan, the top team in Group A, in the first match of the Super Round on September 25. If they advance to the finals, they could meet either Taiwan or Japan for the gold medal.

The softball team, aiming for its first medal at the Asian Games, will face Japan on September 30, a strong contender for the title.

In basketball, the teams have already faced off once, with the men's team defeating Japan 100-83 in the group stage on September 13, finishing first in their group with three consecutive wins. Continuing their momentum, they defeated Jordan 114-80 in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals. If both Korea and Japan reach the finals, they will meet again.

Women's basketball and both men's and women's volleyball teams are in different groups, and whether they will face Japan depends on their group stage results.

In soccer, both Korea-Japan and Korea-North Korea matchups are on the line. The women's team will face North Korea in their third group match on September 21, following their first match against Myanmar (5-0 win) on September 14 and their second match against Bangladesh on September 17. If South Korea finishes second in Group F and Japan tops Group E, they could meet in the semifinals.

The men's team is in Group D and will only face Japan and North Korea in the semifinals if they advance past the group stage.

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