An Se-young wins second Asian Games women’s singles gold medal
At the 2026 Aiichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 29, 2026, South Korean badminton star An Se-young secured the women’s singles gold medal by defeating Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane 2-0 at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium. With this win, World No. 1 An claimed her second Asian Games title, marking a historic first for Korean singles in the tournament.
An Se-young Defends Badminton Singles Crown in Straight Games
Entering the latter stages of the 2026 continental multi-sport showcase, the South Korean delegation’s gold medal count continued to climb. World No. 1 badminton player An Se-young faced World No. 3 Yamaguchi Akane of Japan in the women’s singles final. Having previously triumphed at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, An’s repeat performance establishes a new milestone as the first woman to win back-to-back singles titles in tournament history.
Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na Secure Women’s Doubles Gold After 24-Year Drought
Earlier in the day at the same venue, the women’s doubles pairing of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na captured gold by defeating China’s World No. 1 duo Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 2-1 (26-28, 21-18, 21-18). According to the official event reporting by Yonhap News Agency, this victory marks the first time a South Korean duo has won the Asian Games women’s doubles title in 24 years, following the success of Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won at the 2002 Busan Games.
Historic Firsts in Kurash and Silver Medals in Weightlifting and Boxing
Beyond badminton, South Korea expanded its medal tally across martial arts and strength sports. In kurash—a Central Asian traditional wrestling discipline introduced as a medal event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games—Kim Min-young defeated Taiwan’s Hsu Liu-li-ling 5-0 in the women’s over-87kg division final at the Aichi Budokan, delivering South Korea’s first-ever gold medal in the sport. In weightlifting, heavyweight contender Park Hye-jeong of Goyang City Hall claimed the silver medal in the women’s 86kg-plus category. Park posted a 133kg snatch, 167kg clean and jerk, and a 300kg total, finishing behind China’s Li Wenwen.
In boxing, Jang Dong-hwan and Kim Min-seok advanced to their respective weight class finals. Jang defeated Tajikistan’s Akmal Ubaidov 5-0 in the men’s 60kg semifinal, while Kim secured a 5-0 win in the men’s 80kg semifinal at the Nishio Gymnasium, ensuring silver medals ahead of the finals scheduled for October 2.
Meanwhile, in sport climbing at the boulder and speed qualifiers, Lee Do-hyun topped the men’s bouldering semifinal with 99.7 points, while teammate Chun Jong-won advanced in sixth place. In archery, Lee Seuk advanced to the men’s individual recurve quarterfinals after defeating Iran’s Reza Shabani in a shoot-off during the round of 16.