The modern pentathlon competition at the Paris Olympics will begin Thursday with fencing ranking rounds, as South Korea chases podium finishes in both men's and women's events.The men's and women's fencing ranking rounds will be followed later in the week by riding show jumping, 200-meter freestyle swimming, fencing bonus round and the laser run, which combines running and pistol shooting.South Korea has brought back the 2021 men's Olympic bronze medalist Jun Woong-tae. On the women's side, Seong Seung-min will make her Olympic debut less than two months after winning her first world individual title.Also on Thursday, sport climber Seo Chae-hyun will compete in the lead semifinal of the women's combined event. In Tuesday's bouldering semifinal, Seo only finished 13th among 20 climbers. But lead is her main event, as attested by her No. 3 position in the lead world rankings, and she said Tuesday she felt confident she could make up enough ground to finish among the top eight overall and qualify for the final.South Korea will begin its weightlifting competition Thursday, with Bak Joo-hyo in the men's 73-kilogram event.Source: Yonhap News Agency