Sports will continue during the Chuseok holiday. The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will see Korean athletes competing for medals, while the national soccer team plays an A-match, and the KBO League features a battle for third place, alongside preseason games in professional basketball.
On the first day of the holiday, September 24, gymnastics and swimming events will be key for medal hopes. Yeo Seo-jeong will compete in the women's vault final, aiming to reclaim the Asian Games title after eight years. She secured her spot in the final with a score of 14.466, surpassing her rival An Chang-ok of North Korea, who scored 13.900.
In swimming, the men's 400m freestyle relay final will take place. Kim Young-beom, who has already won one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals at this event, and Hwang Sun-woo, who has earned one silver and four bronze medals, will compete. Kim set a new tournament record in the 50m freestyle, while Hwang won silver in the 200m freestyle.
The women's basketball team, coached by Park Soo-ho, will face Indonesia in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Korea time. After winning all three group matches against Malaysia, Mongolia, and Taiwan, Korea topped Group C and aims to reclaim the title for the first time since the 2014 Incheon Games. A victory over Indonesia would lead them to the semifinals on September 25 and the finals on September 26. With the men's team having already secured a gold medal, hopes are high for a combined victory.
On Chuseok Day, September 25, the badminton individual events will commence. World No. 1 An Se-young will seek her second consecutive title in women's singles, aiming to overcome the disappointment of a bronze medal in the team event. The men's doubles team of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, ranked first in the world, and the women's doubles team of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, ranked second, will also target gold.
The baseball and soccer teams will enter the knockout stages. The baseball team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, will compete in the Super Round from September 25-26, facing the top two teams from each group. After securing first place in Group B with three consecutive wins, Korea will enter the Super Round with one victory. They are set to face Japan, likely the top team from Group A, on September 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Toyohashi City Stadium.
If the team wins both Super Round games, they will advance to the finals on September 27 at 6:30 p.m., aiming for a fifth consecutive Asian Games title.
Both the men's and women's soccer teams will also compete in the quarterfinals on September 25. The men's team, coached by Lee Min-seong, will face Vietnam, while the women's team, led by Shin Sang-woo, will battle Uzbekistan for a spot in the semifinals.
The women's fencing team will aim for a second consecutive title in the team event. After winning the team event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Championships earlier this year, they enter the competition ranked first in the world. The team will be led by Song Se-ra, who won the individual event on September 22. The final is scheduled for 7:20 p.m.
In swimming, Lee Joo-ho will compete in the men's 200m backstroke final, while Kim Woo-min, who is nursing a shoulder injury, prepares for the 400m freestyle. The mixed team event in shooting is also expected to be a medal contender.
On September 26, the mixed doubles table tennis final will take place. World No. 1 Lim Jong-hun and Shin Yu-bin will aim for gold after advancing through the quarterfinals and semifinals the previous day. The duo has recently established themselves as a 'golden combination' by defeating strong Chinese teams in major international competitions. If they reach the final, a matchup against a Chinese team is anticipated.
On the final day of the holiday, September 27, several key finals will occur. In athletics, Woo Sang-hyuk will compete in the men's high jump final, seeking his first Asian Games gold medal. Woo has yet to secure a gold medal at the Asian Games, having previously finished 10th in 2014 and won silver medals in 2018 and 2023. This will be his fourth appearance at the Asian Games.
If he wins, he will become the first Korean male high jumper to claim gold since Lee Jin-taek at the 2002 Busan Games.
The women's singles table tennis final will also take place that day. Shin Yu-bin aims to reach the final for the first time since Jeong Hyun-sook in 1974, but she is likely to face world No. 1 Wang Manyu of China in the quarterfinals. Shin has lost to Wang in all their encounters this year.
The Korean national soccer team, led by interim coach Roberto Moreno, will play an exhibition match against Ecuador on September 24 at 8 p.m. at Suwon World Cup Stadium. This will be the team's first match after the 2026 North and Central America World Cup and Moreno's debut as head coach. Following this, the team will face Uruguay on September 28 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, followed by matches against Venezuela on October 2 in Ulsan and Uzbekistan on October 6 in Yongin.
In the KBO League, the race for the third-place playoff spot intensifies. The LG Twins and KIA Tigers will face off in a two-game series in Gwangju on September 26-27. As of the morning of September 24, LG holds a 3.5-game lead over KIA for third place. LG is on a seven-game winning streak and has narrowed the gap to 2.5 games behind the second-place Samsung Lions.
Professional basketball will kick off the new season with 'Open Match Day' from September 24-27, featuring two games for each of the ten teams. Players who recently won a gold medal at the Asian Games, including Lee Jung-hyun (Goyang Sono), Moon Yoo-hyun, Byun Jun-hyung (Anyang Jeonggwanjang), Moon Jeong-hyun (Suwon KT), Eddie Daniel (Seoul SK), Yoo Gi-sang (Changwon LG), Lee Seung-hyun (Ulsan Hyundai Mobis), and Jang Jae-seok (Busan KCC), will return to their teams and hit the court.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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