(Asiad) S. Korean swimmers seek to defend relay title; football teams set for inter-Korean clash
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean swimming stars will seek to defend their men's relay title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, while the women's football team will face North Korea in the first all-Korean match of the Games.
The team of Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-joon and Kim Young-beom will compete in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo.
South Korea won the event for the first time at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.
Three years later, Kim Young-beom has joined Hwang, Kim Woo-min and Lee on the relay team.
Kim Young-beom, a 20-year old rising star in short distance swimming in South Korea, won silver in the men's 100m freestyle event the previous day, while Hwang finished third.
Kim broke Hwang's Korean record in the 100m discipline at a national competition last year.
South Korea's Kim Young-beom (L) and Hwang Sun-woo pose with their medals won in the men's 100-meter freestyle swimming race at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Sept. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
The women's volleyball team will face Japan in the semifinals. A victory would send South Korea to the Asian Games final for the first time since 2014.
South Korea was eliminated from medal contention after losing in the quarterfinals at the previous Asiad in China.
The baseball team will begin its bid for a fifth consecutive Asian Games title in an opening-round Group B game against Chinese Taipei.
South Korea's women's football team will face North Korea in a Group F match, marking the first inter-Korean match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Both teams have already secured berths in the quarterfinals with two wins. Monday's match will determine the Group F winner.
South Korea's Yuk Seo-young (L) performs during a quarterfinals match against Kazakhstan in women's volleyball at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
In shooting, Park Ha-jun, Gwon Hyeop-jun and Shin Min-ki will compete in the men's 10 meter air rifle individual and team events at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, about 25 kilometers east of Nagoya.
In Wushu, An Hyeon-gi will compete in men's taijiquan & taijijian to become the second Korean gold medalist in the discipline after Yang Seong-chan at the 2002 Asian Games.
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