(Asiad) S. Korea falls short of target as gap with Japan widens

NAGOYA, Japan – At the conclusion of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday night, South Korea aimed to win between 40 and 45 gold medals, hoping to shrink its gap with Japan in the medal standings. Unfortunately, the country fell short of both objectives, ending the competition with 39 gold medals, marking its third consecutive third-place finish behind China and Japan.

This is the lowest tally of gold medals for South Korea since 1982, when they took home 28. The difference between South Korea and Japan was even wider than the gap between South Korea and India, who secured 21 gold medals. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) had anticipated it would be challenging for South Korea to surpass Japan, who was expected to benefit from hosting the event.

However, Japan managed to widen the gap, finishing with 52 gold medals compared to South Korea's 39, a 75-49 deficit in 2018. South Korea's medal expectations were not met in several sports, including swimming, archery, women's archery, shooting, table tennis, and wrestling. Despite the disappointing results in these sports, South Korea managed to win gold medals in basketball, baseball, football, handball, and fencing.

The KSOC acknowledged that the team will need to analyze the results and improve various elements, including training systems and sports science, to remain competitive in Asia and the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.