Asia’s largest multisport event is entering its final countdown, with the Summer Asian Games set to bring together athletes from across the continent.
The 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will begin with the opening ceremony at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 19. The 16-day competition will run through Oct. 4.
It will be the first Summer Asian Games held in Japan since Hiroshima hosted the event in 1994.
Athletes representing all 45 national Olympic committees under the Olympic Council of Asia will compete for 468 gold medals across 43 sports and 71 disciplines.
Several events will make their official debuts, including virtual taekwondo, which incorporates virtual-reality technology; the racket sport padel; and teqball, which combines elements of table tennis and soccer.
Events will be staged across Aichi Prefecture and elsewhere in Japan. Swimming and equestrian events will be held in Tokyo, while soccer matches will take place in several locations, including Osaka and Shizuoka.
South Korea will send a delegation of 1,052 athletes and officials to compete in 41 sports.
The country finished third at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games with 42 gold, 59 silver and 89 bronze medals. South Korea is expected to compete with host Japan for second place in the medal standings.
The Asian Games will also offer an early indication of where the continent’s leading athletes stand ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
South Korea’s leading medal contenders include badminton Olympic champion An Se-young, swimmers Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, Olympic fencing champion Oh Sang-uk and women’s epee world champion Song Se-ra.
The men’s soccer team, coached by Lee Min-sung, will seek its fourth consecutive Asian Games title. The roster includes Europe-based players Bae Jun-ho, Yang Min-hyeok and Kim Ji-soo, along with overage selections Lee Ki-hyuk, Yang Hyun-jun and Eom Ji-sung.
South Korea was drawn with Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Group D.
Several team sports will begin their group-stage schedules before the opening ceremony.
The men’s basketball team will be the first South Korean squad in action, facing Saudi Arabia on Sept. 10 and Japan on Sept. 13.
The women’s soccer team will open against Myanmar on Sept. 14, while the three-time defending champion men’s soccer team begins its campaign against Qatar on Sept. 15.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
