[Jincheon (North Chungcheong Province) = E-Daily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] In the world of competition where victory is decided in 0.1 seconds, tracking the split-second movements of fencing blades has traditionally been done manually. To analyze matches, analysts for the national fencing team would review each match one by one and manually edit the footage to generate analytical data. Even then, due to time constraints, it was physically impossible to thoroughly review an opponent’s entire capabilities.

SKTelecom(017670)announced on the 26th that it is developing and supporting “SKT-FAN,” an AI-based strength analysis system, to address these pain points in the national fencing team’s training. SKT-FAN was developed directly by Choi Jong-hyuk, an SKT manager who had previously operated the company’s sports YouTube channel, using the Vibe coding method after receiving AI training.

Manager Choi said, “I worked on supporting the fencing team last year, and since I had an idea but no one to help me build it, I ended up creating it myself.” He added, “The core of SKT-FAN is to drastically reduce the time spent on analysis, helping coaching staff and athletes focus solely on strategy.”

The biggest advantage of SKT-FAN is its ability to track joint movements without requiring sensors attached to the body. Even without wearing expensive wearable sensors, computer vision tracks the athlete’s joint points using only standard match footage. Each athlete’s movements, unique habits, and strengths and weaknesses are directly stored in a database (DB). The system also reflects the specific characteristics of each discipline, such as foil, épée, and sabre.

The “Automatic Timeline and Highlight Marking” feature eliminates the need for manual review of match footage from start to finish to locate scoring moments. AI recognizes the scoreboard in the video to identify when points were scored or conceded, and by analyzing changes in the athletes’ movements, it automatically highlights those segments.

SKT-FAN incorporates a variety of AI technologies. For video analysis, it utilizes video processing technology and Google’s MediaPipe, among other tools, and adds AI models fine-tuned specifically for fencing to analyze athletes and their movements. In particular, SKT’s proprietary AI technology, A.dot, is applied to the process of recognizing whether a point has been scored. Subsequently, based on data extracted from the video, a large language model (LLM) is used to analyze the match and summarize the opposing player’s key characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. These results are provided in the form of a “Customized AI Strategic Analysis Report.”

After the national team tested SKT-FAN for about two weeks, the feedback has been positive. The time required to compile analysis data has been reduced from one hour per match to just 10 minutes—about one-sixth of the original time—and repetitive tasks related to video analysis have been cut by up to 90%.

Won Woo-young, the national sabre fencing coach, explained, “The AI uncovers aspects we hadn’t considered, so it’s been helpful when reviewing videos with the athletes,” adding, “It would be a great help if we could also see elements like the sword’s trajectory in addition to the movements.”

SKT has a deep-rooted connection with fencing. Since becoming the title sponsor of the Korean Fencing Association in 2003, the company has provided a cumulative total of 36 billion won in support over the past 24 years. From Park Sang-young’s “I can do it” legend at the 2016 Rio Olympics all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics, whenever Korean fencing has reached the world’s pinnacle, it has always been backed by the steadfast infrastructure support of SKT, the “Tall Man.”

Starting with the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games, SKT and the Korea Fencing Association plan to utilize SKT-FAN for actual performance analysis of the national team. They intend to upgrade the system so that real-time analysis during matches is possible by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Oh Wan-geun, Secretary General of the Korean Fencing Association, said, “We expect to achieve excellent results by actively utilizing this tool in our preparations for the competition.”

Kwon Young-sang, Head of SKT’s Communications Support Division, said, “We hope that SKT’s AI technology, combined with our long-standing expertise in sports sponsorship and the passionate support of the public, will serve as a strong source of strength for the Team SKT athletes,” adding, “We will provide both material and moral support to ensure the athletes’ challenges lead to positive results.”

Meanwhile, at the Jincheon National Training Center that day, a total of eight “Team SKT” athletes—including Oh Sang-wook, Do Kyung-dong, Song Se-ra, Jeon Ha-young (all fencing), Park Hye-jeong (weightlifting), Hwang Seon-woo (swimming), Namadi Joel-jin (track and field), Noh Hyun-seung (sport climbing)—a total of eight “Team SKT” athletes—attended the event at the Jincheon National Training Center to express their determination for the Asian Games and promised to repay the public’s enthusiastic support with their best performances.