Table tennis player, rower to carry national flag at opening ceremony

Table tennis star Shin Yu-bin and rower Kim Dong-yong will serve as the flag bearers for Korea at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the national Olympic committee announced Thursday.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said Shin and Kim will do the honors at the ceremony scheduled for Saturday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.

Twenty-two-year-old Shin will compete in the women's singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles and the women's team event. She and her partner, Lim Jong-hoon, are world No. 1 in the mixed doubles and are considered a big medal threat in Nagoya. The two combined for bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

At the 2023 Asian Games, Shin swept up four medals, including gold in the women's doubles.

Thirty-five-year-old Kim has been representing Korea for 17 years. In Nagoya, he will compete in the men's double sculls and the quadruple sculls events, and he is considered a medal contender in the latter.

The KSOC also named veteran archer Kim Woo-jin and shooter Lee Bo-na as co-captains of the whole delegation.

Thirty-four-year-old Kim Woo-jin is one of the most decorated Korean athletes ever, with five Olympic gold medals, three Asian Games gold medals and 10 world titles.

Forty-five-year-old Lee is the oldest female athlete for Korea at this year's Asian Games. She won two medals in trap shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics and led Korea to the team gold medal in the women's double trap team event.

Although the opening ceremony is on the weekend, preliminary action is already underway in sports such as football, volleyball and basketball.

The main Korean delegation is scheduled to arrive in Nagoya later Thursday.

The KSOC said Korea will have 1,051 athletes and officials in 41 of the 43 sports at the Asian Games.

Yonhap