2026 Asian Games
Midlife Halftime: Who can deliver Asiad gold for Team Philippines?
The Philippines came home with four golds, two silvers, and 12 bronzes from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
The performance matched the country’s gold and silver medal haul from the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, but the overall tally was lower at 18 medals compared to the 21 won in Indonesia.
The gold medals in Hangzhou were delivered by EJ Obiena in the men’s pole vault, Meggie Ochoa in women’s 48kg and Annie Ramirez in women’s 57kg jiu-jitsu, and Gilas Pilipinas in men’s 5-on-5 basketball.
The marching order this year in Aichi-Nagoya is to surpass both the gold-medal and overall medal hauls from the previous Asiad. Realizing that objective is not a pipe dream, especially with the Philippines fielding 464 athletes across 39 sports. This is the second-biggest Philippine delegation in Asian Games history, next only to the 524-athlete contingent sent to the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad.
Who, then, are the Philippines’ best gold-medal bets in this year’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games?
EJ Obiena, Athletics – Men’s Pole Vault
(C) PATAFA
At No. 11 in the world rankings, EJ Obiena remains the highest-ranked Asian vaulter in the world. Now training in Athens, Greece, under Polish coach Marcin Szczepanski, Obiena has bagged nine gold medals in 2026, including the Golden Sand in Promenada Gwiazd in Miedzyzdroje, Poland, last August, where he registered a season-best 5.91 meters.
He also defeated Qatar’s Seifeldin Abdelsalam, ranked No. 15 in the world, and Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al-Hizam, ranked No. 48.
Abdelsalam looms as Obiena’s biggest rival in Aichi-Nagoya. The Qatari won the Tyczka na Molo in Sopot, Poland, on August 20 after clearing 5.90 meters, a new personal record.
Also expected to challenge Obiena are two Chinese vaulters: world No. 20 Li Chenyang, who owns a personal best of 5.86m, and No. 22 Huang Bokai, whose personal best stands at 5.85m.
Annie Ramirez, Jiu-Jitsu – Women’s 52kg
(C) POC-PSC Media Group
When Annie Ramirez won the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, she competed in the women’s 57kg division. That category has since been scrapped, forcing Ramirez to move down in weight to compete in the women’s 52kg division in Aichi-Nagoya.
Among those Ramirez will have to contend with is compatriot Jenna Napolis, who won bronze in the 52kg division at the last Asian Games.
Ramirez is fresh off a gold medal at the 2026 JJIF World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last August. It was her third world championship gold. A month earlier, she also won gold at the 10th Ju-Jitsu Asian Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Both victories, however, came in the women’s 52kg division.
Caloy Yulo, Men’s Artistic Gymnastics
(C) Asian Gymnastics
The brightest hopes of delivering a gold medal—or perhaps even two—fall on the shoulders of Caloy Yulo.
For all the accolades Yulo has garnered throughout his career, an Asian Games gold remains missing from his collection of medals. His best finish was fourth in the vault at the Jakarta Asiad. He skipped the Hangzhou Games to compete at the World Championships in Belgium.
Yulo will be the favorite in the two events where he won Olympic gold medals: the floor exercise and vault.
Just last June, Yulo reasserted his dominance on the continental stage by topping the floor exercise at the 2026 Asian Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships. It was the fifth consecutive time he had won the event. His brother, Karl Eldrew, won bronze.
Alex Eala, Women’s Tennis
(C) US Open
An 18-year-old Alex Eala ended a 16-year medal drought for Philippine tennis when she won bronze in the women’s singles and another bronze in mixed doubles with Francis Casey Alcantara at the Hangzhou Asiad. She also ended a 57-year medal drought for Philippine women’s tennis.
Several of Asia’s top players will be missing from the Aichi-Nagoya Games because of the WTA China Open. Among them are Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Janice Tjen of Indonesia, Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand, and China’s Wang Xinyu, Zhang Shuai, and defending Asian Games champion Zheng Qinwen.
That leaves the likes of world No. 80 Wang Xiyu of China, No. 84 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, No. 86 Maria Timofeeva, No. 92 Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan, and No. 94 Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand as potentially the highest-ranked players Eala could face.
Eala is currently ranked No. 18 in the world.
Kayla Sanchez, Women’s Swimming
(C) POC Media
After emerging as the winningest Filipino athlete at the SEA Games last December with three golds and five silvers, Kayla Sanchez aims to replicate that impressive feat at the Asian Games.
Sanchez will be looking to end the Philippines’ three-decade medal drought in swimming. The last Filipino swimmer to win an Asian Games medal was Raymond Papa, who claimed two bronze medals in 1998.
This August, during the 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California, Sanchez rewrote the Philippine record in the 100m freestyle by clocking 53.46 seconds, a time faster than the bronze-medal performance in the previous Asian Games.
Sanchez also owns personal-best marks in the women’s 50m backstroke and women’s 100m breaststroke that are faster than the winning times in both events in Hangzhou.
Victoria Bossong, Athletics – 800 Meters
(C) Harvard Athletics
The newest addition to the Philippine athletics team could just be the surprise package in Aichi-Nagoya.
Harvard University neuroscience graduate Victoria Bossong will be making her debut in the middle-distance events.
The 23-year-old Filipino-American placed second in the 2025 US NCAA Indoor Championships in the women’s 800 meters.
She owns a personal best of 1:58.52 in the 800m, which she set at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in Texas this June. That mark is four and a half seconds faster than the 2:03.20 winning time posted by Tharushi Karunarathna of Sri Lanka at the Hangzhou Games.
Bossong also owns a personal best of 52.02 seconds in the 400m, which is slightly faster than the time of the bronze medalist in Hangzhou.
Eldrew Yulo, Artistic Gymnastics
(C) PSC Media Group
Caloy Yulo’s biggest competition in the floor exercise could just be his younger brother, Karl Eldrew.
The younger Yulo has made a name for himself on the international stage.
Last March, he won gold in the floor exercise at the Antalya World Cup. He followed that up with bronze medals in the floor exercise and horizontal bar at the Cairo World Cup last April.
In the latest 2026 World Cup rankings, Eldrew is second in the floor exercise behind three-time World Cup gold medalist Yahor Sharamkou of Belarus.
Eldrew also ranks fourth in the World Cup standings in the horizontal bar. The highest-ranked gymnast in the event is Paris Olympic bronze medalist Tang Chia-Hung of Chinese Taipei, while former Asian Championships gold medalist Karimi Milad of Kazakhstan is ranked third.
Kimberly Custodio, Jiu-Jitsu – Women’s 48kg
(C) PSC
At 39 years old, Kimberly Custodio will make her first Asian Games appearance in Aichi-Nagoya this September. That is quite surprising for one of the country’s most accomplished jiu-jitsu national athletes.
Last December, Custodio also made her debut at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok. She was one of only two Filipino gold medalists in jiu-jitsu.
Custodio recently ruled the adult female –45kg division at the 2026 JJIF World Championships at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was her fourth world championship gold.
While Annie Ramirez is moving down to 52kg from 57kg, Custodio will move up in weight from her usual 45kg division to 48kg.
Patrick Coo, Men’s BMX Race
(C) POC Media Group
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, a 21-year-old Patrick Coo overcame an early spill, a scraped upper thigh, and ripped pants to still claim a bronze medal.
He also finished with bronze at the Southeast Asian Games last December, behind hometown bet Komet Sukprasert, the Hangzhou Asiad silver medalist, and Putthaphum Nakpaen of Thailand.
Coo has reason to be confident about his chances in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
In early August, Coo placed second at the 2026 Asian BMX Championships in Nilai, Malaysia. He finished just eight-tenths of a second behind back-to-back champion Asuma Nakai of Japan.
Nakai is the defending Asian Games gold medalist. Coo also finished ahead of Sukprasert, who failed to win a medal.
John Cabang Tolentino, Athletics – 110m Hurdles
(C) POC Media
John Cabang Tolentino owns a personal best of 13.37 seconds in the 110m hurdles, which he posted in 2024. That mark is faster than the gold-medal-winning time in the Hangzhou Asiad shared by Yaqoub Al-Youha of Kuwait and Shunya Takayama of Japan.
It is also faster than the time of the bronze medalist at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.
Cabang has already proven that he can keep pace with the best hurdlers in Asia after winning bronze in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. He finished just 0.01 seconds behind the silver medalist and 0.04 seconds behind the gold medalist.
Last December, Tolentino set a new SEA Games record in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds to add another gold medal to the Philippines’ haul.
DARK HORSES
Nesthy Petecio – Boxing – 60kg
Aira Villegas – Boxing – 51kg
Carlo Paalam – Boxing – 55kg
Eumir Marcial – Boxing – 80kg
Tachiana Mangin – Taekwondo – 49kg
Gilas Women’s 3×3 – Kacey de la Rosa, Kennan Ka, Amyah Espanol, Louna Ozar
The post Midlife Halftime: Who can deliver Asiad gold for Team Philippines? appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Despite a few setbacks through the opening days of the 2026 Asian Games, Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino remains steadfast in his prediction that Team Pilipinas can win at least eight gold medals.
Tolentino refused to lower his expectations after the Philippines saw several medal hopes fall short, including Jean Claude Saclag, who settled for silver after losing in the gold medal match of the men’s traditional mixed martial arts -65kg division.
Aira Villegas also bowed out of the women’s -51kg division, while swimmer Kayla Sanchez still has two individual events remaining in her campaign — the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke — with opportunities to add to the country’s medal haul.
But for Tolentino, there is still plenty of time for the Philippines to make good on his ambitious target.
“Walang atrasan ‘to. Sabi ko nga, hindi naman masama ang mangarap eh. Wala namang bayad ‘yan, libre ‘yun,” Tolentino said, stressing that the Games are still in their early stages.
Asked which athletes and teams he expects to lead the Philippines’ gold-medal campaign, Tolentino quickly named a deep group of contenders led by Alex Eala, Carlos Yulo, EJ Obiena, the national boxing team, Victoria Bosong, the 3×3 basketball squads, Mobile Legends, and jiu-jitsu.
“Lampas sampu pa ‘yun. So hindi pa tayo nawawalan ng pag-asa. Definitely, meron tayong golds,” he said.
Tolentino also pointed to the improved support given to Filipino athletes compared to previous Asian Games cycles.
With increased funding, training allowances, and the hiring of foreign coaches, he believes Team Pilipinas is better equipped to compete against nations that have invested heavily in their sports programs and naturalized athletes.
The POC chief is also aiming for the Philippines to surpass its previous four-gold medal haul, with several medal events still to come in the Games. For Tolentino, the message to the athletes remains straightforward as they enter the crucial stretch of competition.
“Laban lang. No replay… gamit din ng strategy. ’Pag lamang na, ’wag nang gigil.”
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Alas Pilipinas Women hardly broke a sweat in dispatching youthful Qatar, 25-8, 25-2, 25-9, to advance to the classification round of the 20th Asian Games on Sunday at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Japan.
The Philippines’ experience and composure proved too much for a Qatar side averaging just 17.58 years old, as Alas overwhelmed its young opposition from the opening serve and allowed just 19 points across three sets.
The dominant victory gave Alas its first win of the tournament and snapped a two-game skid following losses to China and Kazakhstan in the group phase.
Alas put the mismatch on full display in the second set, rattling off 19 consecutive points to turn the frame into a rout. Amie Provido led the charge, scoring 11 of her game-high 19 points in the set alone.
Provido delivered a commanding all-around performance, converting 11 kills on 14 attempts while adding four blocks and four aces for the Philippines.
Shaina Nitura and Bella Belen also finished in double figures with 10 points apiece, while Nina Ytang and Alyssa Solomon added seven and six points, respectively.
The numbers further highlighted Alas’ dominance, with the Philippines recording 39 attacks on 61 attempts, 11 blocks, and nine aces in the 52-minute victory.
Qatar, meanwhile, managed just eight attacks and two blocks, while nine of its 19 total points came from Philippine errors.
Alas will face Mongolia next on Monday, with a spot in the ninth-place match at stake. The loser will drop to the 11th-place match.
Sumaia Almadhoun led Qatar with four points.
Qatar, on the other hand, will take on Kyrgyzstan in the 13th-place match.
The post Alas Women dominate Qatar, keep ninth-place hopes alive in Asian Games appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Carlos Alvarez secured another medal for Team Philippines after advancing to the semifinals of the men’s MMA Traditional -77kg division at the 2026 Asian Games with a knockout win over Indonesia’s Ananda Wahyu Setyo.
Alvarez weathered a closely fought opening round before turning up the pressure in the second, eventually finding the finish to book his spot in the medal rounds.
“No’ng first round kasi medyo parang ganunan lang kami sa points eh. Medyo parang dikit. Tabla oh. Kaya no’ng second round sabi ko kailangan kong tapusin ’to para manalo,” he said.
The victory guaranteed Alvarez at least a bronze medal, easing some of the pressure surrounding his Asian Games debut. Still, the Filipino fighter made it clear that settling for a podium finish is not the objective.
“At least nabawasan nang konti ’yong pressure kasi malaki ang pressure dito. At least ngayon, may medal na tayong siguradong maiuuwi, at ang goal namin talaga dito sa MMA is makuha ang gold medal,” he said.
Alvarez also credited fellow Filipino Jean Claude Saclag for providing additional inspiration.
Saclag earlier clinched a bronze medal and moved into the semifinals, giving the Philippines an early breakthrough in the MMA competition.
“Oo, na-inspire din ako kay Jean kasi siya ’yong unang lumaban and siya din ’yong unang nanalo sa ’min. Sabi ko sa sarili ko ’di puwedeng matalo ko dito,” he said.
While Alvarez moved on, Gina Araos saw her campaign come to an end in the women’s Modern -54kg quarterfinals after Thai opponent Kanjutha Pattaraboonsorn secured a submission victory.
Alvarez will have little time to celebrate his win, with his semifinal assignment against Kazakhstan’s Yerkingali Burkutalin scheduled for Monday at 9:40 a.m. Manila time.
With a spot in the gold medal match on the line, Alvarez plans to focus on recovery before returning to action.
“Rest lang kami mamaya nang mabuti at ayusin ang mga masasakit na parts ng katawan, tapos ’yon. Laban na ulit,” he said.
Carrying the Philippine flag has also served as an added source of motivation for Alvarez as he pursues a place in the final.
“Sobrang motivation ’yan kasi Pilipinas na ’yong ni-represent namin dito eh. Hindi na team lang namin sa Baguio or something. Pilipinas na siya talaga. Napakagandang motivation at inspirasyon sa aming mga lumalaban dito,” he said.
The post Alvarez, Saclag advance to Asian Games MMA semifinals appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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