SKT Harvests 10 Medals from Asian Games After 24 Years of Fencing Sponsorship

*This content was translated by AI.

SK Telecom reaped abundant medals through sponsorship and development across various sports disciplines at this year's Asian Games.

First, the South Korean national fencing team, which has been sponsored by SK Telecom for 24 years, won a total of 10 medals in all men's and women's sabre, epee, and foil events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

SK Telecom, serving as president of the Korean Fencing Association, announced on the 28th that it supported the national team's preparation for this tournament by adding AI-based performance analysis and public encouragement to its 24-year sponsorship.

For the first time, SKT's self-developed fencing AI performance analysis system, "SKT-FAN (Fencing AI Nexus)," was introduced in the preparation process for this tournament. This system utilizes AI computer vision and motion capture technology to automatically detect scoring moments in match footage, generate timelines and highlights, and conduct player-specific performance analysis through "sensorless AI motion capture."

Sensorless motion capture is a method where AI tracks and digitizes athletes' joint movements from standard match footage without requiring wearable sensors.

SKT-FAN was developed with the goal of reducing repetitive video analysis tasks by up to 90%. Coaching staff and the athlete delegation utilized the analysis results to enhance training and adjust in-game strategies, while SKT additionally dispatched mandatory trainers and performance analysts to the venue during the tournament to assist with athletes' condition management.

Since assuming the role of president of the Korean Fencing Association in 2003, SK Telecom has cumulatively sponsored 36 billion won for training equipment, support for overseas competition participation, and creation of Olympic-style practice environments.

The "SK Telecom International Grand Prix Fencing" tournament, held annually since 2004 for its 21st edition, has served as a breeding ground ("san-sil") where domestic athletes compete against world-class opponents, while support for club and amateur tournaments with approximately 4,000 annual participants has expanded the foundation of recreational sports.

In the meantime, Korean fencing has ranked first overall in all events at the Asian Games four consecutive times from the 2010 Guangzhou Games to the 2022 Hangzhou Games, and has achieved three consecutive gold medals in the men's sabre team event at the Olympics (2012 London, 2020 Tokyo, and 2024 Paris).

SKT also announced on this day that it sponsors athletes including swimmer Hwang Sun-woo, weightlifter Park Hye-jung, track and field athlete Namadi Joeljin, modern pentathlete Shin Su-min, sport climber Noh Hyun-seung, and basketball player Eddie Daniel under the "Team SKT" initiative.

As of the 27th, "Team SKT" athletes have collectively won five gold medals, seven silver medals, and six bronze medals. Fencer Song Se-ra added a team silver medal after winning Korea's first gold medal of this tournament in the women's individual epee event on the 22nd. Basketball player Eddie Daniel contributed to the team's first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years as a member of the Nam Ja (CEO) team that defeated Japan in the final.

Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo won six medals, including a silver in the men's 200m freestyle and bronzes in the 100m freestyle and 800m relay. Modern pentathlete Shin Su-min added a women's team silver medal. Track and field athlete Namadi Joeljin finished fourth in the men's 100m final with a time of 10.17 seconds, challenging for Korea's first medal in 44 years. Weightlifter Park Hye-jung is scheduled to compete on the 29th, while sport climber Noh Hyun-seung will compete next month on the 3rd.

A cheering video produced by SKT also became a hot topic. The company previously released a video titled "Best AI Supporters" on the 18th, featuring surprise messages of encouragement from family members, training partners, and mandatory trainers sent to the national team. The video reached approximately 1.9 million views just nine days after its release on the 27th.

Kwon Young-sang, SKT CommJi Won (Head), stated, "The scene where the national team, which has sweated alongside us for 24 years, secured four consecutive gold medals in men's sabre while wrapped in public support is an unforgettable moment for SKT." He added, "As it has been confirmed that SKT's AI technology contributed to improved performance, we will continue to make ongoing improvements and support the field going forward."

Meanwhile, SK Telecom is accelerating the application of AI technology in industrial settings and expanding its ecosystem this year. In January, aligned with the enforcement of the Basic Act on AI, it strengthened its corporate AI governance framework and launched a "Good AI" campaign to build safe and trustworthy AI services. In June, it promoted field validation of a manufacturing-specialized AI agent based on an independent AI model developed in collaboration with KG Steel and Conex.

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*This content was translated by AI.