"The Paris hero is ready to make her mark!" Seong Seung-min reaches the final and takes aim at South Korea's first gold medal of the Games [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] South Korea's leading women's modern pentathlete, Seong Seung-min of Korea National Sport University, has warmed up for the South Korean delegation's first gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Seong Seung-min scored 1,365 points across fencing, the obstacle event, swimming and the laser run—a combination of athletics and shooting—in the women's modern pentathlon semifinal at Anjo Sports Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 17th. She advanced to the final in second place in Group A.
Her performance was dominant. After placing second overall in the fencing seeding round the previous day, Seong Seung-min seized the initiative by finishing first in fencing in the main event with 250 points. She then placed third in the obstacle event with 353 points and seventh in swimming with 274 points, remaining near the top of the standings. In the final event, the laser run, she held on to second place without faltering and comfortably secured a spot in the final, which was open to the top nine athletes from each group.
Seong Seung-min made history at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics by becoming the first Asian athlete to win a women's modern pentathlon bronze medal. Now, she has her sights set on the top spot at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The women's modern pentathlon final, featuring Seong Seung-min, will be held on the morning of the 20th, the day after the Games' opening ceremony. If she wins, she will have the honor of earning the South Korean delegation's first gold medal of the Games.

Winning the individual gold medal would also boost South Korea's chances of taking gold in the team event. The team standings at these Games will be determined by combining the scores of each country's top three athletes.
All four members of the South Korean team, including Seong Seung-min, reached the final, strengthening expectations of a team-event victory. Su-Min Shin, the team's "fearsome youngest" athlete born in 2006, placed sixth in Group A alongside Seong Seung-min. Jang Ha-eun and Kim Eun-ju, who competed in Group B, also advanced after placing seventh and eighth, respectively, giving South Korea a complete lineup for its medal bid.
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