The Korean team, which secured third place for the third consecutive time, returned home after completing 16 days of competition at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On October 5, the team, led by Korea Sports Council President Yoo Seung-min and team leader Lee Sang-hyun, arrived at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 2. Sports climbing gold medalist Seo Chae-hyun (Seoul City Hall) and two-time Asian Games silver medalist in breaking Kim Hong-yeol led the group holding the national flag, followed by representatives from wrestling, rhythmic gymnastics, and tennis.
Most team members returned home according to their schedules after completing their respective events.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Council held a welcome event at the airport. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young presented bouquets to the team, expressing gratitude and encouragement for their efforts and passion during the competition. Korea Sports Council Vice President Lee Jin-sook also attended the airport event.
Team leader Lee Sang-hyun reported the results of the competition to President Yoo before returning the team’s short-term report, marking the official conclusion of the Korean team's schedule.
Korea dispatched 1,051 athletes across 41 sports for the event, which began on September 19. The final tally included 39 gold medals, 43 silver medals, and 68 bronze medals, totaling 150. Korea finished third overall, following China (169 gold, 89 silver, 83 bronze) and Japan (83 gold, 95 silver, 91 bronze). This marks the third consecutive time Korea has placed third, following the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Games held in 2023.
However, Korea did not meet its pre-competition goal set by the Korea Sports Council of winning 40 to 45 gold medals, achieving the lowest count since the 1982 New Delhi Games (28 gold medals).
From the 1986 Seoul Games to the 2014 Incheon Games, Korea consistently won over 50 gold medals. However, the count dropped to 49 at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, 42 at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, and now 39 at the Nagoya Games, marking a decline in gold medals for three consecutive events.
The impact of traditional strong sports was significant. Archery, which aimed for five gold medals, secured only three, with the women's recurve team missing out on gold for the first time in Asian Games history. Swimming managed just one gold medal, and no table tennis team reached the finals.
In contrast, team sports excelled, with men's soccer achieving a fourth consecutive title, baseball winning for the fifth time in a row, and basketball securing three gold medals in men's and women's 5-on-5 and men's 3-on-3. Women's handball also reclaimed the top spot after eight years.
Fencing emerged as the top sport for Korea, contributing four gold medals. Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon City Hall), who won both individual and team events, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Korean team by the Korea Sports Council.
However, the success in team sports and fencing was insufficient to close the gap with the leaders. China, which has won overall for 12 consecutive times, continued its overwhelming performance with 169 gold medals, while host nation Japan capitalized on its home advantage, achieving its best-ever performance with 83 gold medals.
The gap with Japan has widened. At the previous Hangzhou Games, Korea (42 gold) was only 10 behind Japan (52 gold), but this time the difference increased to 44.
Off the field, controversies arose, including a dispute over the disqualification of judoka Jeong Soo-jin (Yongin University) and criticism directed at the men's soccer team regarding comments made by some players about military service benefits.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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