Korean modern pentathlete Jun Woong-tae, left, and Jung Jin-hwa high-five each other during the men's fencing ranking round event at the Asian Games at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 20. Yonhap
When the medal race for the 19th Asian Games starts in China on Sunday, Korea will be pushing for multiple medals right from the get-go.
The very first medal for Korea, which has sent its Asiad record delegation of 1,140 athletes and officials, could come from modern pentathlon.
The finals for the women's and men's individual and team events are all scheduled for Sunday, the day after the opening ceremony in Hangzhou.
Korea has already stated its goal of sweeping up all four gold medals in modern pentathlon in Hangzhou, a feat the country has never before achieved at Asian Games.
The women's competition will wrap up first Sunday. The preliminary portion of fencing took place Wednesday, and the remaining fencing competition, along with show jumping, swimming and laser-run, which combines running and shooting, will all be contested Sunday.
A country can have up to four athletes in the individual competition. The combined score of the top three will determine the rankings in the team event.
Korean judo athlete An Baul walks through the international arrival gate at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport to begin preparation for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 21. Yonhap
Kim Se-hee and Kim Sun-woo, who took the silver and the bronze in the individual event at the 2018 Asiad, are back for another go. For the team event, they will be joined by Seong Seung-min and Jang Ha-eun to form a medal-contending team.
The women's individual laser run, the conclusion of which will determine the medalists, is scheduled to begin at noon Sunday in Hangzhou, or 1 p.m. Sunday in Korea.
If women's modern pentathlon doesn't come true, the baton will be passed to taekwondo's poomsae, a demonstration discipline of the martial art.
The finals for the men's and women's individual poomsae are set for 3 p.m. Sunday in Korean time. Kang Wan-jin, a member of the gold medal-winning men's team in 2018, will go for his first individual gold medal. Cha Yea-eun will compete on the women's side. She had missed out on the national team trials for 2022 and wouldn't have qualified for the Asian Games had they not been postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given a new life, the 22-year-old won the trials for this year.
In the evening hours, Jun Woong-tae will try to win his second straight gold in the men's individual event in modern pentathlon.
Judo athlete An Baul will also chase his second title in a row in the men's 66-kilogram division.
Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo, left, acknowledges fans at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 22, after arriving for the 19th Asian Games. Yonhap
Later on, Korean swimming star Hwang Sun-woo will be competing in his first race, the men's 100-meter freestyle, where he's expected to duel hometown favorite, Pan Zhanle of China, for the gold.
Korea should be in line for several medals in fencing, and the first of those could come in the women's individual epee, where Song Se-ra, the 2022 world champion, will attempt to win her first Asian Games gold. (Yonhap)
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