SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) -South Korea will field the third-largest athlete contingent at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, behind host Japan and China, according to official Games Hub data.
Japan registered 919 athletes for the Games, bigger than China's 803 and South Korea's 780, showed the official competition information platform as of Monday.
A total of 10,798 athletes have registered for the Games, which formally open Saturday and run through Oct. 4.
Thailand has the fourth-largest contingent with 682 athletes, followed by Hong Kong with 569, Kazakhstan with 547 and India with 508.
The athlete count differs from the overall size of national delegations, which also include coaches and other officials.
South Korea, for example, plans to send a delegation of 1,052 athletes and officials to compete in 41 sports.
Men substantially outnumber women among registered athletes.
The Games Hub count shows 6,215 male athletes and 4,583 female athletes, putting men at nearly 58 percent of the total.
Some delegations buck the overall trend. North Korea registered 42 men and 65 women, while Vietnam has 173 men and 175 women and Singapore 133 men and 171 women.
At the other end of the scale is the Asian Refugee Team, with just two athletes — one man and one woman.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will field the refugee team at the Asian Games, with both athletes competing in taekwondo.
The delegation will be called the OCA Refugee Team at protocol events including the opening and closing ceremonies and compete under the name Asian Refugee Team, or ART.
The OCA flag will be used for the team during competition. If either athlete wins a gold medal, the OCA flag will be raised and the OCA anthem played at the medal ceremony.
Excluding the refugee team, Brunei has the smallest contingent with six athletes — five men and one woman — competing in karate and wushu.
The 20th Asian Games will bring together athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees across 43 sports. Japan is hosting the Summer Asian Games for the third time after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.
AJP Takeaways
- Host Japan registered the largest athlete contingent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 919 competitors, ahead of China with 803 and South Korea with 780.
- A total of 10,798 athletes are registered, including 6,215 men and 4,583 women, according to the Games' official information platform.
- The two-member Asian Refugee Team is the smallest contingent, with both athletes competing in taekwondo under the OCA flag.
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