Asian Games: Jean Claude Saclag takes home MMA silver for Philippines

Inquirer.net - Sep 22, 2026

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines — Jean Claude Saclag secured the Philippines’ first silver medal in the Asian Games 2026 despite falling to Otabek Rajabov of Tajikistan in the mixed martial arts men’s traditional -65kg final on Tuesday at Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. Saclag struck

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Asian Games: Kacey Dela Rosa powers Gilas women 3×3 to unbeaten start
Sep 22, 2026

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READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Kacey dela Rosa powered Gilas Pilipinas to twin victories over favorite Mongolia and lowly Macau on Tuesday to start its medal bid on a bright note in the women’s 3×3 U-23 basketball competition of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. Dela Rosa scored

Alex Eala all business in practice ahead of Singapore Open debut
Sep 22, 2026

Alex Eala all business in practice ahead of Singapore Open debut

SINGAPORE–A laser-focused Alex Eala held nothing back in practice on Tuesday ahead of her highly anticipated main draw debut at the Singapore Open. Eala was all business even in training with hitting partner Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich under the guidance of her Spanish assistant coach Sandro Viaene at practice court 2 inside the Kallang sports complex

Meet Korean 'fencing idol' Yang Seung-hye whose looks drew AI comparison
Sep 22, 2026

Meet Korean 'fencing idol' Yang Seung-hye whose looks drew AI comparison

“She's real, even though she looks like she was created by artificial intelligence (AI).” This was how Thai media outlet Thairath Sport described 20-year-old Yang Seung-hye, a member of the Korean women's national fencing team, after the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games officially kicked off the previous day. The outlet praised not only her appearance but also her exceptional skills, highlighting the attention Yang, who is nicknamed a “fencing idol” in Korea, is receiving overseas. Thairath Sport posted several photos of Yang on its official Facebook account on Sunday. The outlet introduced her as “the youngest member of the Korean women's epee national team at just 20 years old,” adding that she “has drawn the attention of sports fans with her outstanding skills and striking appearance and has been dubbed one of Korea's ‘fencing idols’ by the Korean media.” The Thai outlet also praised Yang's performance on the piste. It noted that the Korean women's epee team won the team event at the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Women's Epee World Cup in Saint-Maur, France,

Defending champion S. Korea reaches semifinals in women's badminton team event
Sep 22, 2026

Defending champion S. Korea reaches semifinals in women's badminton team event

NAGOYA, Japan — Led by world No. 1 An Se-young, defending champion South Korea advanced to the semifinals of the women's badminton team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday. South Korea defeated Malaysia 3-1, after two singles and two doubles matches at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, just northwest of the main host city, Nagoya, Japan. An, the reigning Olympic and world champion in the women's singles, led things off by beating Letshanaa Karupathevan 2-0 (21-12, 21-8). In the next doubles match, though, world No. 2 tandem of Lee So-hee and Baek Hana lost to fifth-ranked team, Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan by 2-0 (22-20, 21-17). But South Korea won the next two matches to grab its ticket to the semifinals. Kim Ga-eun took care of Wong Ling Ching 2-0 (21-12, 21-18), before Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong beat Cheng Su Yin and Low Zi Yu 2-1 (18-21, 21-11, 24-22). An said afterward she enjoys the team event because she is surrounded by supportive teammates on the court — something she never gets to enjoy during singles matches. "It is fun to hear my teammates cheer m

S. Korea picks up silver in mixed team shooting event
Sep 22, 2026

S. Korea picks up silver in mixed team shooting event

NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea won silver in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday, its first silver in the sport after grabbing two bronze medals earlier. Ban Hyo-jin and Park Ha-jun finished in second place with 502.9 points in the final at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, some 25 kilometers east of the main host city of Nagoya. The Chinese tandem of Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao won the gold with a world record total of 507.1 points. Japan took bronze with 439.7 points, while India finished last in the four-team final with 376.3 points. Both South Korean shooters had won bronze medals earlier in the competition — Ban in the women's 10m air rifle individual event and Park in the men's 10m air rifle team event. In the mixed team final, each shooter took 15 shots, for a total of 30 shots per team, in Stage 1, with the perfect score being 10.9 points. After those initial 30 shots, the shooters each fired three shots for six shots per team in Stage 2, and the lowest-scoring team at that point ended in fourth place. The bronze medal was deter

[Asian Games] S. Korea hammers Hong Kong for 2nd straight win in baseball
Sep 22, 2026

[Asian Games] S. Korea hammers Hong Kong for 2nd straight win in baseball

NAGOYA — South Korea shut down Hong Kong 13-0 on Tuesday as its pitchers combined for a perfect game in a rout that ended after seven innings on a mercy rule. Cho Hyeong-woo smoked a grand slam, and Roh Si-hwan launched a two-run home run in South Korea's second straight Group B win at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, some 85 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya. Starter Choi Min-seok and five other pitchers combined for a perfect game and struck out 12 batters. South Korea, made up of stars from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), is trying to win its fifth straight baseball gold medal. The quest began with a 5-0 win over Chinese Taipei on Monday, and South Korea will next face Thailand on Wednesday. The top two teams from each of the two groups will compete in the Super Round. The two best teams from the Super Round will clash in the gold medal game on Saturday in Toyohashi. Roh fired the opening salvo on Tuesday with a two-run bomb in the top of the first, and South Korea scored in each of the first three frames, with Cho's slam coming in the third

[Asian Games] Song Se-ra wins gold in women's epee individual fencing
Sep 22, 2026

[Asian Games] Song Se-ra wins gold in women's epee individual fencing

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S. Korea wins bronze in men's medley relay swimming
Sep 22, 2026

S. Korea wins bronze in men's medley relay swimming

TOKYO — South Korea grabbed bronze in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay swimming race at the Asian Games on Tuesday with a new national record, as its anchor Kim Young-beom collected his third medal in three days in Tokyo. The quartet of Lee Ju-ho, Choi Dong-yeol, Yang Jae-hoon and Kim clocked 3:31.97 in the final at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, as South Korea placed third behind China (3:27.89) and Japan (3:28.70). The previous national record was 3:32.05, set when South Korea won silver at the 2023 Asiad. Lee, Choi, Kim and Hwang Sun-woo raced in the final then. This was an entirely different lineup than the one that swam in the heats, when Yoon Ji-hwan, Cho Sung-jae, Kim Ji-hun and Hwang represented South Korea. These four also received bronze medals. It was also Hwang's third medal of the competition, after he won bronze in the 100m freestyle on Sunday and another bronze in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay on Monday. In the medley relay, swimmers each covered 100m in the following order of styles: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Lee covered his backstroke leg in 53.92 s

Injured Kim Woo-min finishes last in 1,500m freestyle swimming
Sep 22, 2026

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[Asian Games] S. Korea beat Saudi Arabia to win group in men's football
Sep 22, 2026

[Asian Games] S. Korea beat Saudi Arabia to win group in men's football

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Quezon tops South qualifier; Imus clinches last play-in slot in MPBL
Sep 22, 2026

Quezon tops South qualifier; Imus clinches last play-in slot in MPBL

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EJ Obiena leads 24-member PH athletics team at Asian Games
Sep 22, 2026

EJ Obiena leads 24-member PH athletics team at Asian Games

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena will defend his Asian Games title and pursue another record as he leads the Philippines’ 24-member athletics team in Aichi-Nagoya. Obiena enters the competition as the defending men’s pole vault champion after clearing an Asian Games-record

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