S. Korea to start gold medal campaign on 1st day of medal events

NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea is set to begin its gold medal campaign in earnest Sunday as the medal race at the 20th Asian Games got underway in Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture. With 1,051 athletes and officials in action, South Korea is targeting up to 45 gold medals and a third-place finish in the medal table, behind China and Japan. The first gold could come from the women's modern pentathlon. Seong Seung-min, who helped South Korea win bronze in the women's team event in the previous Asian Games, won the 2024 World Modern Pentathlon Championships to become the first South Korean woman to win a world title in the event. At the Paris Summer Olympics later that year, she became the first Asian female pentathlete to win an Olympic medal. Three other South Korean pentathletes — Kim Un-ju, Shin Su-min and Jang Ha-eun — will also compete in the 18-athlete final. Male pentathletes will take the field later Sunday, with reigning Asian Games champion Jun Woong-tae going for his third straight individual gold medal and second team gold alongside Seo Chang-wan, Lee Jong-hyeon and Kim Young-ha. Wo