{
  "id": 6094413,
  "title": "Athlete eyes Asian Games gold medals in real, virtual taekwondo events",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/athlete-eyes-asian-games-gold-medals-in-real-virtual-taekwondo-events-6094413",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-07T03:52:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20260907/athlete-eyes-asian-games-gold-medals-in-real-virtual-taekwondo-events"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korean taekwondo athlete An Hyang-sik aims to win two gold medals at the upcoming Asian Games, a first for any Korean practitioner. The reason for this unprecedented achievement is the introduction of virtual taekwondo, where athletes can compete in multiple weight classes digitally. Wearing virtual reality (VR) headsets and motion-tracking devices, competitors face off against virtual opponents, attempting to drain their opponent's power gauge or have more remaining at the end of a 60-second round. An Hyang-sik, competing in the men's 58 kilograms category, will take part in both traditional and virtual taekwondo at the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. He expressed his ambition to hear his national anthem play twice during the event, following a recent World Taekwondo (WT) Grand Prix competition in Muju, South Korea. Despite the absence of weigh-ins for virtual matches, An Hyang-sik remains focused on securing two gold medals.",
  "summary": "No Korean taekwondo practitioner has won more than one gold medal at an Asian Games, for the simple reason that athletes could only compete in one weight class at a time. For this year's Asian Games, however, they will have a chance to bring home two medals for the first time, thanks to the addition of virtual taekwondo. In the digitized version of the Korean martial art, practitioners wearing…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Athlete eyes Asian Games gold medals in real, virtual taekwondo events",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/athlete-eyes-asian-games-gold-medals-in-real-virtual-taekwondo-events",
        "published": "2026-09-07T02:46:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Athlete eyes Asian Games gold medals in real, virtual taekwondo events",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/athlete-eyes-asian-games-gold-medals-in-real-virtual-taekwondo-events-6096143",
        "published": "2026-09-07T04:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}