Teen Sailor Choi Ji-un Wins Asian Games Gold With Late Comeback

South Korean sailor Choi Ji-un won the boys’ dinghy gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday after a late surge lifted him from fourth place to the top of the standings.

The 15-year-old finished the 12-race competition with a net penalty score of 25 points at Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor in Gamagori, about 50 kilometers southeast of Nagoya, the main host city. Choi entered the final two races in fourth place but produced a decisive comeback to claim the title.

The victory made Choi the youngest gold medalist in South Korea’s delegation at this year’s Asian Games. It also marked the country’s first Asian Games sailing gold in a youth category in 12 years. Park Sung-bin had previously won the under-16 Optimist event when Incheon hosted the Games in 2014.

Choi’s result added a notable youth success to South Korea’s sailing campaign and came on the penultimate day of competition. The comeback was particularly significant because sailing standings are determined across a series of races rather than in a single final, requiring athletes to manage changing conditions and limit costly finishes throughout the regatta.

The boys’ dinghy event tested competitors over multiple rounds before the final standings were calculated. Choi’s 25-point total put him in first place after the last race and completed a sharp reversal in a contest that remained open until the closing stages.

At 15, Choi entered the event as one of the youngest members of the Korean team. His ability to overturn the deficit in the final two races delivered South Korea a gold medal and placed him among the delegation’s standout performers in Japan.

The 2026 Asian Games are being staged across Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, with sailing held at the coastal Gamagori venue. Choi’s title extends South Korea’s history of success in Asian Games sailing while highlighting a new generation of athletes in the sport.

For South Korea, the medal carries importance beyond the immediate standings. The 12-year gap since the country’s previous youth-category sailing gold underscores the rarity of the achievement, while the final-day comeback gives the result a distinct competitive edge. Choi left the regatta not only as the boys’ dinghy champion but also as the youngest Korean gold medalist of the Games.