[ASIAN GAMES] S. Korea falls short of target as gap with Japan widens

South Korea finished third at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 39 gold medals, missing its target of 40 to 45 and widening its gap with Japan. It was South Korea’s third straight third-place finish and its fewest golds since 1982. KSOC president Ryu Seung-min said the team must analyze the results carefully with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in mind.

South Korea’s 39 gold medals marked its third consecutive third-place finish behind China and Japan.

The 39-gold total was South Korea’s lowest at an Asian Games since it won 28 gold medals in 1982.

Japan pulled away early, and South Korea won only one swimming gold in the first week after taking six in swimming at the 2023 Asian Games.

South Korea won only three archery gold medals and failed to win a women’s archery gold for the first time since archery was added to the Asian Games in 1978.

Ryu Seung-min said KSOC would analyze training systems and sports science after the event as part of preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics in two years.

Published Oct 5, 2026 7:58 am KST

Updated Oct 5, 2026 8:04 am KST

The 20th Asian Games officially conclude with a closing ceremony at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Sunday, Oct. 4. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

NAGOYA, Japan — For the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games that ended with the closing ceremony Sunday night, South Korea had set out to win 40 to 45 gold medals and narrow its gap with Japan in the medal race.

The country accomplished neither of those goals.

South Korea finished with 39 gold medals for its third consecutive third-place finish, behind China and Japan, and this was also South Korea's fewest gold medal tally since taking home 28 in 1982.

The gap between South Korea and Japan was much bigger than that between South Korea and the fourth-place finisher, India, which finished with 21 gold medals.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) had projected it would be difficult for South Korea to catch Japan, which it thought would enjoy home field advantage. After South Korea finished 10 gold medals behind Japan at the 2023 Asiad, at 52-42 -- compared to a 75-49 deficit in 2018 -- the KSOC said the objective this time would be to reduce that gap even further.

However, Japan pulled away early, with South Korea not earning as many medals from some sports as it had hoped.

During the first week of the medal race, South Korea picked up just one gold medal from swimming, a sport where it had won six gold medals in 2023.

In the latter part of the competition, South Korea managed only three gold medals from archery, with one gold from compound and two more from recurve.

This is the lowest total of archery titles for South Korea at an Asiad since the compound discipline made its debut in 2014. Also, South Korea failed to win a women's archery gold for the first time since the sport was added to the Asian Games in 1978.

South Korea had also eyed five gold medals in shooting but left with three. South Korea managed three gold medals in taekwondo, its traditional martial art, with only one of them coming from the "kyorugi," or sparring, discipline.

Not getting any gold from table tennis and wrestling also hurt South Korea in the medal race.

The country had high expectations in judo, with Japan, home of judo, deciding to send its top athletes to the overlapping world championships instead of the Asian Games. South Korea failed to take advantage, settling for one gold by Huh Mimi as other hopefuls lost to athletes from China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), acknowledged South Korea will have its work cut out to remain a force in Asia.

"It is no longer just China and Japan; teams from Central and Southeast Asia are improving rapidly," Ryu said Sunday at a press conference with South Korean media in Nagoya. "It is true that we did not live up to expectations in some sports. And this was an important occasion for us to see where we stand with the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles two years away. We at the KSOC will carry out a detailed analysis on results here and take a look at all the elements that can affect athletes' performances, such as training systems and sports science."

On a positive note, South Korea did get a boost from basketball -- winning both the men's and the women's gold medals for the first such sweep in 12 years while also winning the men's 3x3 title.

The country received gold medals from other team sports such as baseball, men's football and women's handball.

South Korea had a solid fencing campaign with four gold medals and 10 medals overall, after winning six gold medals at each of the past two editions of the Asian Games.

"In the days leading up to this event, I stressed that this Asiad would be a key part of the buildup process for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics," Ryu said. "We will listen more closely to athletes and coaches as we move forward, and make sure we present a stronger version of Team Korea in LA."

韩国在爱知-名古屋亚运会上仅获得39枚金牌，位列第三，未能达到40至45枚金牌的目标，与日本的差距进一步拉大。这是韩国连续第三年获得亚运会第三名，也是自1982年以来金牌数最少的一次。韩国奥委会主席柳承敏表示，代表队必须认真分析比赛结果，为2028年洛杉矶奥运会做好准备。

韩国获得39枚金牌，连续第三年位列中国和日本之后，获得第三名。

韩国此次共获得39枚金牌，是自1982年获得28枚金牌以来，在亚运会上获得的最低金牌数。

日本队早早拉开差距，而韩国队在2023年亚运会游泳项目中获得六枚金牌后，在第一周只获得一枚游泳金牌。

韩国仅获得三枚射箭金牌，并且自 1978 年射箭成为亚运会正式比赛项目以来，首次未能获得女子射箭金牌。

柳承敏表示，韩国奥委会将在赛事结束后分析训练体系和运动科学，作为两年后洛杉矶奥运会的备战工作的一部分。

发布于2026年10月5日 上午7:58（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月5日上午8:04（韩国标准时间）

第20届亚运会于10月4日星期日在日本爱知县名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场举行闭幕式，正式落下帷幕。韩国时报崔元硕摄。

日本名古屋——在周日晚闭幕式上落下帷幕的爱知-名古屋亚运会上，韩国的目标是赢得 40 至 45 枚金牌，缩小与日本在奖牌榜上的差距。

该国这两个目标都没能实现。

韩国最终获得 39 枚金牌，连续第三次获得第三名，落后于中国和日本。这也是韩国自 1982 年获得 28 枚金牌以来获得的最少金牌数。

韩国与日本之间的差距比韩国与排名第四的印度之间的差距要大得多，印度最终获得了 21 枚金牌。

韩国体育与奥林匹克委员会（KSOC）此前预测，韩国很难追赶拥有主场优势的日本。在2023年亚运会上，韩国以42枚金牌比52枚金牌落后日本10枚（相比之下，2018年韩国的差距为49枚金牌比75枚），KSOC表示，此次的目标是进一步缩小差距。

然而，日本队早早拉开了差距，韩国队在一些体育项目上获得的奖牌数量没有达到预期。

在奖牌争夺战的第一周，韩国在游泳项目中仅获得一枚金牌，而他们在 2023 年曾获得该项目六枚金牌。

在比赛的后半段，韩国在射箭项目中仅获得三枚金牌，其中一枚来自复合弓，两枚来自反曲弓。

这是自2014年复合弓项目首次成为亚运会正式比赛项目以来，韩国在亚运会上获得的射箭项目金牌总数最低的一次。此外，自1978年女子射箭项目成为亚运会正式比赛项目以来，韩国首次未能获得女子射箭项目的金牌。

韩国原本目标是在射击项目上获得五枚金牌，但最终只获得了三枚。在跆拳道这项传统武术项目中，韩国也获得了三枚金牌，但其中只有一枚来自“竞技”（或称搏击）项目。

乒乓球和摔跤项目未能获得金牌也影响了韩国在奖牌榜上的排名。

韩国对柔道项目寄予厚望，因为柔道的发源地日本决定派出顶尖运动员参加与亚运会同期举行的世界柔道锦标赛。然而，韩国未能抓住机会，仅由许美美获得一枚金牌，其他夺冠热门选手则败给了来自中国、乌兹别克斯坦和塔吉克斯坦的选手。

韩国体育奥林匹克委员会（KSOC）主席柳承敏承认，韩国要想继续保持其在亚洲的影响力，还有很多工作要做。

“现在不仅仅是中国和日本了；中亚和东南亚的队伍也在迅速进步，”柳贤振周日在名古屋举行的韩国媒体新闻发布会上表示。“的确，我们在某些项目上的表现没有达到预期。但这次比赛对我们来说意义重大，让我们有机会审视自身实力，为两年后的洛杉矶夏季奥运会做好准备。韩国奥委会将对本次比赛结果进行详细分析，并研究所有可能影响运动员表现的因素，例如训练体系和运动科学。”

从积极的方面来看，韩国在篮球方面获得了提振——12 年来首次包揽男、女单金牌，同时还赢得了男子 3x3 篮球冠军。

该国还在棒球、男子足球和女子手球等其他团体运动中获得金牌。

韩国在本次亚运会击剑比赛中表现出色，获得四枚金牌和十枚奖牌，此前两届亚运会韩国均获得六枚金牌。

柳贤振表示：“在本次亚运会开幕前的几天里，我一直强调，本届亚运会是备战2028年洛杉矶奥运会的关键环节。接下来，我们将更加认真地听取运动员和教练的意见，确保在洛杉矶奥运会上展现出更强大的韩国队。”