▲ The South Korean sepak takraw national team competing in the women's team regu event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The South Korean sepak takraw national team has advanced to the final of the women's team regu for the third consecutive Asian Games, securing at least a silver medal.
South Korea defeated Indonesia 2-0 in regu points in the semifinals of the women's team regu at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Mizuho Park Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan, on the afternoon of September 24.
Having won silver medals at both the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in the women's team regu, South Korea has now reached the final for the third straight time, guaranteeing another podium finish.
South Korea will face Thailand at 9 a.m. on September 25 at the same venue to compete for the gold medal. Thailand secured their spot by decisively beating host nation Japan 2-0 in their semifinal match.
Thailand, the powerhouse of world sepak takraw, is aiming for its fifth consecutive title since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
South Korea fell to Thailand in the finals of the past two tournaments where it won silver medals.
Having lost 0-3 in regu points to Thailand in the third preliminary match of this tournament held the previous day, South Korea is eyeing revenge in the final and its first-ever gold medal in this event at the Asian Games.
The only gold medal South Korea has ever won in Asian Games sepak takraw came 24 years ago at the 2002 Busan Asian Games in the men's circle event (a team event where players stand in a circle and score points by performing various skills resembling hacky sack), which remains the nation's sole gold across all men's and women's events.
Team regu is a team competition where each side consists of three regus (trios) that face off to determine the winner.
In the women's team regu competition featuring four countries, each team played three matches in a round-robin format, followed by semifinals matching the 1st against 4th place teams and the 2nd against 3rd place teams on this day.
Typically, the Asian Games sepak takraw event does not hold a separate bronze medal match, awarding bronze to both losing semifinalists.
However, because only four teams participated in the women's team regu event—creating a situation where merely participating would guarantee a medal—it was decided that a bronze medal match would be held.
South Korea finished second in the preliminary round with two wins and one loss, behind Thailand (three wins), setting up a semifinal clash against third-place Indonesia (one win, two losses).
Facing Indonesia again—whom they had already defeated 3-0 in regu points during the preliminaries—South Korea took control early by winning the first regu with a set score of 2-0 (15-9, 15-11).
They then secured the match by pulling off a comeback win in a tight second regu with a set score of 2-1 (13-15, 15-13, 15-11).
After dropping the first set and trailing in the second, they turned the tide and sealed their trip to the final in the final set.
(Photo courtesy of the Korea Sepak Takraw Association, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.