122-member main delegation leaves for Nagoya, Japan, on Thursday
South Korea's main delegation to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games departed for Japan on Thursday.
According to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, 122 people — including Chef de Mission Lee Sang-hyeon and headquarters officials, along with athletes from badminton, road cycling, women's handball, karate, table tennis and beach volleyball — left Incheon International Airport at 10:35 a.m. aboard Korean Air flight KE741 bound for Nagoya.
Upon arrival, the delegation will move into the athletes' village assigned to each sport and begin acclimatizing before competition gets underway.
Table tennis player Shin Yu-bin and badminton player Seo Seung-jae will serve as flag bearers for the departure ceremony. Recurve archer Kim Woo-jin and sport shooter Lee Bo-na have been named co-captains of the South Korean delegation for the Games.
At the opening ceremony on Saturday, rower Kim Dong-yong and Shin Yu-bin will lead the South Korean delegation into the stadium carrying the national flag. Shin will serve as flag bearer at the opening ceremony in addition to her role at Thursday's departure.
Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min said he hoped the athletes would "show the skills they have built up over a hot summer to the fullest," adding, "We ask all citizens to cheer our athletes on to the very end."
The committee is sending a total of 1,051 delegation members to the Games, comprising 791 athletes, 219 team officials and 41 headquarters staff across 41 sports.
The Games open Saturday with a ceremony at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya and run through Oct. 4, spanning 16 days.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
