"One Asia"…16 Days of Passion Kicks Off

[Anchor]

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, a sports festival for 4.8 billion Asians, has kicked off its 16-day run with the opening ceremony that began a short while ago. Team Korea will begin its full-fledged quest for gold medals tomorrow (September 20).

Reporter Lee Jeong-Chan has the details.

[Reporter]

With the countdown, the hearts of sports fans began to beat faster.

While the opening ceremony's theme, "Harmonious Heartbeat," was expressed through colorful lights and movements on a heart-shaped stage, Team Korea entered 16th among the 45 participating countries, led by table tennis star Shin Yu-bin with a bright expression and veteran rower Kim Dong-yong, who is making his fifth Asian Games appearance.

North Korea appeared 8th, and the Refugee Team, consisting of two taekwondo athletes, took a historic first step.

[Emperor Naruhito: I hereby declare the opening of the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.]

Following colorful cultural performances connecting Nagoya's past and future, the torch—lit in Tokyo and Hiroshima, cities that previously hosted the Asian Games in Japan—passed through the hands of the "track and field legend" Murofushi father and son to brightly light the cauldron, foreshadowing the fierce competition that will take place over the next 16 days.

Korea will embark on its gold medal hunt starting tomorrow.

Modern pentathlete Seong Seung-min and women's 10.5-meter air rifle shooter Ban Hyo-jin will aim for Team Korea's first gold. Meanwhile, the men's basketball team led by ace Lee Hyun-jung and Lee Jun-seok, the captain of teqball—which has become an official sport for the first time—are heading into their "final showdown" having already secured silver medals.

Hwang Sun-woo will rev up his engines for multiple gold medals in his first event, the 100m freestyle.

(Video by Kim Se-kyung | Video editing by Kim Jong-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.