[Nagoya AG] Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Open Today—South Korea Seeks to Reclaim Handball Title

[Financial News] The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the 20th Summer Asian Games, will officially open on the 19th. South Korean athletes will also begin their medal campaign in earnest.
The opening ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. that day at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. The Games will continue for 16 days through the 4th of next month.
Nagoya-born director Tsutsumi Yukihiko will serve as the ceremony's executive director. Under the theme of “Heartbeat,” symbolizing harmony among Asian athletes, the approximately two-hour ceremony will combine the region's history and culture with cutting-edge technology.
South Korean athletes will also compete from the opening day. The women's handball team will play its first round-robin match against Hong Kong at 10 a.m. that day at ENTRIO in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
South Korea's women's handball team is seeking to reclaim the Asian Games gold medal after eight years. The team won consecutive titles at Asian Games Incheon 2014 and the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, but lost to Japan in the final of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and settled for silver.
South Korea will also pursue a medal in Teqball, which has been adopted as an official event for the first time at these Games. In Teqball, players kick a soccer ball back and forth over a curved table. The sport combines elements of soccer, table tennis, foot volleyball and sepak takraw.
South Korean team captain Lee Jun-seok will face Eden Zaid of Kuwait in the men's singles semifinal at Nagoya Higashi Sports Center that day. A victory would send him to the final of the inaugural Asian Games men's singles Teqball event.
Lee Jun-seok played soccer until he was 21 before moving through foot volleyball and then switching to Teqball. He continued competing while working as a contract production employee at a major corporation, eventually quitting his job to devote himself fully to the sport.
His momentum has also been clear at these Games. Lee Jun-seok has reached the semifinals after winning six consecutive matches without dropping a set. He will seek to get past Zaid that day and clear the final hurdle on his way to becoming the inaugural champion. 
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter