Minister Choi Hwiyeong to Attend Asian Para Games Opening Ceremony, Encourage Athletes and Review Support Arrangements

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwiyeong will visit the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games venue on the 18th and attend the opening ceremony as a representative of the Korean government. He will stay through the 19th, visiting the Athletes’ Village and competition venues to encourage the national team and review support arrangements.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Choi will attend the opening ceremony on the 18th and a reception hosted by the Games’ organizing committee. He will meet with key figures in international para sports, including the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the president of the Asian Paralympic Committee (AsPC), and the chair of the Games’ organizing committee. Jeong Jinwan, president of the Korea Paralympic Committee, and Jeong Jaejun, vice president of the Asian Paralympic Committee, will also attend.

The Asian Para Games, taking place from today through the 24th, will bring together more than 4,000 athletes from 45 countries, who will compete for 508 medals across 18 sports. South Korea is sending a delegation of 357 people, including 214 athletes and 143 team officials, to compete in every sport.

The opening ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. today at the athletics stadium in Mizuho Park, Nagoya. Track and field athlete Jang Minho and table tennis player Yun Jiyu will carry the Korean delegation’s flag. Jang is competing in both the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games, while Yun is a silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

On the morning of the 19th, Choi will visit the Athletes’ Village to encourage the delegation and review on-site support arrangements. As accommodation for the Games is spread across a container-style Athletes’ Village and 17 hotels, with competition venues also located in multiple areas, he is expected to review the operation of medical rooms in each zone and arrangements for transporting the delegation.

He will then attend the table tennis men’s and women’s singles group-stage and round-of-16 matches at Sky Hall Toyota in Toyota City to cheer on the Korean team. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, table tennis won a total of 28 medals, including nine golds, making it the sport in which the Korean delegation won the most medals. In the afternoon, he will watch the women’s 10m air rifle standing event (sport class SH1) at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range and cheer on the Korean team.

Updates on the Korean delegation’s performance are available on the delegation’s Asian Para Games website. The site provides news about the Games, including schedules and results by sport, medal standings, athlete profiles, and photos and videos from the venues.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Paralympic Committee have conducted special training in 17 sports since July in preparation for the Games. On-site sports science services include recovery and fitness management, psychological counseling, and competition video analysis.

In particular, a support system has been set up for each zone to accommodate the Games’ dispersed venues and lodging. During the Games, 36 sport coordinators will be deployed locally to support the teams in their respective sports. Medical rooms will be set up at the Athletes’ Village and in six zones, staffed by 20 medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and physical therapists. The delegation will also receive support with meals and daily living, including Korean meal boxes and a “mobile convenience store” service.

“We will do our utmost to provide on-site support so that our athletes can fully demonstrate the skills they have prepared for at the Games,” Minister Choi Hwiyeong said. “We will continue to provide policy support so that athletes with disabilities can train and compete in a stable environment.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.