SK Telecom is holding a send-off ceremony for its sponsored athletes ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and moving to support performance improvements, including AI-based power analysis.

SKT on Aug. 26 held a "Team SKT" send-off ceremony at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province. It was the third time SKT has held a send-off event for sponsored athletes ahead of the Asian Games and the Olympics, following the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Eight athletes attended the ceremony, including Sang-wook Oh (오상욱), Kyung-dong Do (도경동), Se-ra Song (송세라) and Ha-young Jeon (전하영) in fencing, Hye-jung Park (박혜정) in weightlifting, Sun-woo Hwang (황선우) in swimming, Namadi Joel Jin (나마디 조엘진) in athletics and Hyun-seung Roh (노현승) in sport climbing.

SKT unveiled a "national cheering flag" made with supportive messages collected through an online campaign. It delivered the Taegeukgi flag to Taek-soo Kim (김택수), head of the Jincheon National Training Center, to convey wishes for strong performances by Team SKT and the national team delegation.

"Team SKT fan creators" who will cheer on athletes on site also attended the ceremony. The fan creators plan to watch athletes compete in Nagoya and produce video content featuring the scenes there.

SKT also introduced its self-developed fencing AI power analysis system, "SKT-FAN (Fencing AI Nexus)," in preparations for the Asian Games. SKT-FAN uses computer vision technology to automatically edit highlight videos of scoring and conceding points right after matches and to analyse opponents' tactics and attack patterns.

SKT expects the system to reduce repetitive video analysis work by power analysts by up to 90 percent. Athletes and coaching staff can use the analysis results in training and adjust strategies in competition based on opponents' tactics.

SKT, which has served as chair company of the Korea Fencing Federation for the 24th year, will also dispatch additional medical trainers and power analysts to help manage athletes' condition and improve performance.

Wan-geun Oh (오완근), secretary general of the Korea Fencing Federation, said satisfaction among athletes and coaching staff was high after trying the AI power analysis system developed by SKT ahead of the Asian Games. He said he hopes it will be actively used during tournament preparations and lead to good results.

Young-sang Kwon (권영상), head of SKT's Comm Support Office, said he hopes SKT's AI technology, long-standing sports sponsorship know-how and public support will provide strong backing to Team SKT. He said SKT will support the athletes so their challenge can lead to good outcomes.