IOA, Korea Olympic Committee sign MoU to expand sports cooperation

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation across athlete development, high-performance sport and sports administration.

The agreement was signed at Korea House in Nagoya on October 2, during the 2026 Asian Games, with IOA President P. T. Usha and KSOC President Ryu Seung-min signing the agreement.

The two organisations will cooperate across several areas, including athlete development, coaching, sports science, youth development and good governance.

The MoU also provides for exchanges involving coaches, sports experts and officials, as well as joint training programmes and reciprocal access to training facilities.

For athletes, the cooperation could create opportunities to access training environments and expertise from both countries as they prepare for major international competitions.

The agreement also covers sports planning and marketing, broadening the partnership beyond performance preparation to areas of sports administration and commercial development.

Usha said the agreement was particularly meaningful because both she and Ryu are former athletes and therefore have a shared understanding of the requirements of high-performance sport.

The IOA president said the partnership would create stronger pathways for the next generation of athletes while strengthening cooperation between the two Olympic organisations.

Ryu, a former Olympic fencing champion, has led the KSOC since 2025. The Korean committee oversees South Korea's Olympic movement and works across athlete development, international sporting relations and preparation for major multi-sport competitions.

The agreement builds on wider sports cooperation between India and South Korea. The two countries have also been working towards greater exchanges of sports experts and personnel, including in coaching, talent development and sports science.

The new MoU gives the two national Olympic bodies a framework for expanding those exchanges through joint programmes, training opportunities and knowledge sharing.

As both countries prepare athletes for successive international competitions, the agreement establishes a formal channel for cooperation across performance sport, youth development, and sports governance.

The partnership was signed during the Asian Games in Nagoya, where athletes from India and South Korea are competing alongside delegations from across Asia.