Korea potentially in for big day with competition nearing end

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea could be in for a productive day in the medal race at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Friday, with the continental competition nearing its end in central Japan.

Korea will look for a complete sweep of all three recurve archery events Friday, with the men's team, women's team and mixed team finals set at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, Japan.

The day will begin with the semifinals. The women's team of Lee Yun-ji, Oh Ye-jin and Kang Chae-young will face Indonesia, and the men's team of Kim Je-deok, Kim Woo-jin and Lee Woo-seok will face Chinese Taipei.

Kang and Kim Je-deok will be the duo for the mixed team semifinals against China.

Esports legend Faker, or Lee Sang-hyeok, will try to lead Korea to its second straight gold medal in League of Legends.

Korea will have two finalists in men's boxing on Friday, as they carry hopes of bringing the country its first boxing gold in 12 years. Jang Dong-hwan will take on Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan in the men's 60-kilogram gold medal bout, while Kim Min-seong will fight Ankush Panghal of India in the men's 80kg class at Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Japan.

Kim Min-jong, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the men's 100-kilogram event in judo, will be in pursuit of his first Asian Games gold on Friday. He settled for bronze three years ago.

In the women's 78-kilogram event, Lee Hyeon-ji has emerged as a medal threat after beating the 2023 Asiad champion and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Kim Ha-yun in the national team trials.

Yonhap