Men's Fencing Dominates the Asian Games, with AI Tactical Analysis as Its Behind-the-Scenes Support

[Financial News] South Korea's national fencing team won medals in all men's and women's saber, épée, and foil events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. AI played a strong behind-the-scenes role in those medal wins by analyzing performance and suggesting effective strategies. 
According to Financial News reporting on the 28th, SKT, the corporate sponsor of the Korea Fencing Association, supported the national fencing team ahead of the competition, including by introducing its in-house AI tactical-analysis system for the first time. 

Preparation for the competition included the first use of SKT's in-house fencing AI tactical-analysis system, SKT-FAN (Fencing AI Nexus). The system automatically identifies when points are scored and conceded in match footage, then organizes the flow of matches and key moments by time. It can also analyze athletes' performance by tracking their joint movements in video without requiring them to wear specially sensor-equipped clothing.
SKT developed SKT-FAN with the goal of reducing by up to 90% the time performance analysts spend repeatedly reviewing footage. The coaching staff and athletes used the analysis results in training and to adjust their strategies for actual competition.
During the competition, SKT also supported the athletes' condition management by sending additional medical trainers and performance analysts to the host country.
Since becoming the Korea Fencing Association's corporate sponsor in 2003, SKT has provided a cumulative 36 billion won in support for training equipment, participation in overseas competitions, and the creation of realistic Olympic training environments. Through the SK Telecom International Grand Prix Fencing, which began in 2004 and reached its 21st edition this year, it has given Korean athletes opportunities to compete against world-class fencers. SKT has also supported club and amateur competitions attended by approximately 4,000 people annually.
During this period, Korean fencing ranked first overall among disciplines at four consecutive Asian Games, from Guangzhou in 2010 through Hangzhou in 2022. At the Olympics, the team won three consecutive titles in the men's team saber event.

In addition to fencing, SKT sponsors swimmers Hwang Sun-woo, weightlifter Park Hye-jeong, sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi, modern pentathlete Su-Min Shin, sport climber Noh Hyun-seung, and basketball player Eddie Daniel as members of Team SKT. As of the 27th, these athletes had won five gold, seven silver, and six bronze medals.
Fencer Song Se-ra won Korean fencing's first gold medal of the competition in the women's individual épée event on the 22nd and added a silver medal in the team event. Basketball player Eddie Daniel helped the men's national team defeat Japan and win the Asian Games title for the first time in 12 years.
Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo won six medals, including a silver in the 200-meter freestyle and bronzes in the 100-meter freestyle and the 800-meter relay. Modern pentathlete Su-Min Shin added a silver medal in the women's team event. Sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi placed fourth in the men's 100-meter final with a time of 10.17 seconds. Weightlifter Park Hye-jeong is scheduled to compete on the 29th, while sport climber Noh Hyun-seung will compete on the 3rd of next month.
SKT also delivered a 'National Support Taegeukgi' bearing messages of encouragement from the public to the athletes. The medal-winning Team SKT athletes draped the flags around themselves as they celebrated. A video titled 'The Best AI Supporters,' released on the 18th with messages of support from the athletes' families, training partners, and medical trainers, had recorded approximately 1.9 million views by the 27th.
Kwon Young-sang, head of SKT's Communications Support Office, said, "For SKT, seeing the national team, which has worked and sweated alongside us for 24 years, achieve its fourth consecutive men's saber title while draped in the public's support was an unforgettable moment. Now that we have confirmed that SKT's AI technology contributed to improving performance, we will continue to improve it and support athletes on the ground." 
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter