"One Asia"... 16-Day Journey Begins

[Anchor]

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, a sports festival for 4.8 billion Asians, has kicked off a 16-day run with its opening ceremony a short while ago. Our national delegation will begin its full-fledged hunt 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.

Against the backdrop of a heart-shaped stage expressing the opening ceremony's theme, "Harmonious Heartbeat," through brilliant colors of light and movement, our delegation entered 16th among the 45 participating countries. Table tennis star Shin Yu-bin with a bright smile and veteran rower Kim Dong-yong, making his fifth Asian Games appearance, led the team as flag bearers.

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

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

Following colorful cultural performances connecting Nagoya's past and future, the torch—ignited in Tokyo and Hiroshima, which previously hosted the Asian Games in Japan—passed through the hands of the father-and-son track and legend Murofushi to brightly light the cauldron, foreshadowing 16 days of fierce competition.

South Korea will start hunting for gold medals as early as tomorrow.

Modern pentathlete Seong Seung-min and women's 10.5-meter air rifle shooter Ban Hyo-jin aim for our delegation's first gold. Meanwhile, the men's basketball national team led by ace Lee Hyun-jung and Teqball captain Lee Joon-seok, whose sport has become an official event for the first time, head into their "final showdown" having already secured silver.

Hwang Sun-woo will spark his bid for multiple gold medals in his first event, the 100-meter freestyle.

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