Kira Sung leads South Korea’s 18-member jiu jitsu delegation to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a chance to become the first athlete in the sport to medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
South Korea is preparing to send an 18-member jiu-jitsu delegation to Japan for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with one of the country’s most accomplished grapplers chasing a piece of Asian Games history.
The Korean delegation will consist of 10 male athletes, six female athletes and two officials for the jiu-jitsu competition, scheduled for October 1–3 at Aichi Budokan in Japan.
At the center of Korea’s medal hopes will be Kira Sung, who enters Aichi-Nagoya with an opportunity to accomplish something no jiu-jitsu athlete has done before: win a medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
Kira Sung Chases a Third Straight Asian Games Medal
Sung has already been part of both previous Asian Games jiu-jitsu competitions.
Kira Sung leads South Korea’s 18-member jiu-jitsu delegation to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a chance to become the first athlete in the sport to medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
Kira Sung leads South Korea’s 18-member jiu-jitsu delegation to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a chance to become the first athlete in the sport to medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
Now, Aichi-Nagoya presents another opportunity.
Kira Sung leads South Korea’s 18-member jiu-jitsu delegation to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a chance to become the first athlete in the sport to medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
Kira Sung leads South Korea’s 18-member jiu-jitsu delegation to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a chance to become the first athlete in the sport to medal at three consecutive Asian Games.
Her ambitions, however, extend beyond simply reaching the podium.
“The mindset is always the same. As a member of the Korean national team, I will do my best to win the title again.”
Sung has remained at the top of the Korean women’s 63kg division between Asian Games appearances. She won gold when jiu-jitsu was featured as a demonstration event at Korea’s 106th National Sports Festival in 2025 and followed that by winning the 2026 Korean national team selection competition, securing another opportunity to represent her country.
South Korea Has Emerged as an Asian Games Jiu-Jitsu Power
Korea will arrive in Japan with an established history of success in the sport.
Across the first two Asian Games to feature jiu-jitsu, the Korean national team has collected eight medals: two gold, two silver and four bronze.
That places South Korea third in the overall Asian Games jiu-jitsu medal standings behind the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan, according to figures reported ahead of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Jiu-jitsu made its Asian Games debut at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 before returning for the Hangzhou Games. Its inclusion at Aichi-Nagoya marks the sport’s third consecutive appearance on the Asian Games program.
For Korea, that development has coincided with the sport gaining greater recognition domestically.
Jiu-jitsu was included as a demonstration event at the National Sports Festival in 2025, another step toward establishing the grappling discipline within Korea’s traditional sporting structure.
Its influence also extends naturally into mixed martial arts, where jiu-jitsu and submission grappling remain fundamental parts of competition. Sung herself has crossed into that space as a commentator for Korean amateur and semi-professional MMA promotion KMMA, bringing her grappling experience to broadcasts and rules discussions.
A Chance to Make History in Japan
South Korea will have 16 athletes pursuing medals when competition begins at Aichi Budokan on October 1, but Sung’s campaign carries a particularly significant storyline.
Eight years will have passed since she stood atop the podium in Indonesia.
Since then, she has gone from Asian Games champion to silver medalist while continuing to hold her position among Korea’s leading female jiu-jitsu competitors.
Aichi-Nagoya offers her the chance to complete a rare three-Games run.
Another gold would return Sung to the top of the Asian Games podium. Any medal, however, would place her alone in the record books as the first jiu-jitsu athlete to medal at three consecutive editions.
For a Korean team that has already established itself among Asia’s most successful jiu-jitsu programs, its most decorated returning athlete now has the opportunity to make the country’s third Asian Games appearance its most historic yet.
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Lets goo korea!!