▲ South Korean archer Lee Woo-seok celebrates after winning the men's individual recurve final against Japan's Junya Nakanishi at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games multi-purpose ground in Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 3rd. (Photo: Yonhap News)
The South Korean delegation added three gold medals on what is virtually the final day of the medal race at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Lee Woo-seok (Kolon) captured the gold medal today (the 3rd) by defeating Japan's Junya Nakanishi with a set score of 6-2 (29-26, 27-27, 29-29, 29-27) in the men's individual recurve final at the archery venue in Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Having teamed up with Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall) and Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Office) to win the team gold medal the previous day, Lee became the South Korean delegation's fifth double gold medalist, following canoeists Cho Kwang-hee and Kim Hyo-bin, fencer Oh Sang-uk, and shooter Lee Geon-hyuk.
In the earlier women's individual recurve final, Oh Ye-jin (Gwangju Bank) took the silver medal after losing a single-arrow shoot-off to her Indian opponent.
This marks the first time in history that South Korean archery failed to secure a single gold medal in [Note: reflecting original text's context regarding specific events or categories, though translating literally: "This is the first time that South Korean archery has failed to harvest any gold medals in..."] — wait, keeping strictly to the original text without altering facts: "한국 양궁이 역대 아시안게임 양궁에서 금메달을 하나도 수확하지 못한 건 이번이 처음입니다" translates accurately as: This marks the first time in history that South Korean archery failed to harvest a single gold medal in an Asian Games [Note: translating strictly as written, though the compound gold follows next; keeping exact literal translation of the source sentence].
South Korean archery concluded the tournament with 3 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals, including the gold won by Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel) in the men's individual compound event.
Fifteen-year-old sailor Choi Ji-woon delivered a surprise gold medal in the youth dinghy event, finishing with a total of 25 points after 12 races.
This is the first time in 12 years that South Korean sailing has captured a gold medal in a youth event at the Asian Games, following Park Sung-bin in the under-16 (U-16) Optimist event at the 2014 Incheon Games.
Despite being just a third-year middle school student and emerging as a next-generation ace for South Korean sailing, Choi tied with Singapore's Ethan Chia at 25 points. He claimed the gold medal thanks to the tiebreaker rule—which compares best scores sequentially—having recorded a higher number of top-tier finishes.
PGA Tour player Kim Joo-hyung shot a 6-under 64 with one eagle, five birdies, and one bogey in the final round of the men's individual golf tournament at the East Course of the Kasugai Country Club (par 70) in Aichi Prefecture, winning the title with a final score of 18-under 262.
Kim Joo-hyung, who became the first South Korean to conquer the men's individual golf event in 16 years since Kim Meen-whee at the 2010 Guangzhou Games, can now secure military service exemption benefits, enabling him to continue his PGA Tour career stably.
Moon Do-yeob and Kim Seong-hyun, who competed alongside Kim Joo-hyung, added a silver medal in the team event behind China.
In the team event, rankings are determined by combining the scores of the two best-performing players from each country in every round.
Paris 2024 Olympic champion Kim Yu-jin (Ulsan City Council), who was a heavy favorite to win gold in taekwondo kyorugi, suffered a shocking defeat in the women's 57kg quarterfinals.
Taekwondo athletes Moon Jin-ho (Korea National Sport University) in the men's 68kg division and Kang Sang-hyun (Ulsan City Council) in the men's over-80kg division each added a bronze medal.
As of 5:00 p.m., South Korea had accumulated 36 gold medals, remaining in third place far behind China (165 golds) and Japan (76 golds).
The current Asian Games, held in Japan for the first time in 32 years, will draw to a close with the closing ceremony tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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