Obiena grateful after Asiad defense   

Manila Times - Sep 30, 2026

UNDER wet conditions due to a drizzly Tuesday evening, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena still claimed his second straight men’s pole vault title in the 20th Asian Games in Japan. The Filipino pole vault ace did it in a record-setting fashion at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Obiena secured the gold medal after Chinese Yao Jie and Li Chenyang struck out at 5.75 m which the Philippine bet cleared in just one try. The 30-year-old decided to post a new meet record and successfully did so with a 5.91-meter (m) clearance, surpassing the 5.90-m height he aced in the previous edition in Hangzhou, China, back in 2023. Obiena thus gave the Philippines its third overall gold in the ongoing meet following gymnast Carlos Yulo’s floor exercise and vault titles. “A gold and a GR (games record) here in Nagoya,” wrote Obiena in his social media pages on Wednesday morning. “As athletes, we live in these moments. Moments that make us overthink, stress us, adrenaline pumping pressure on our backs and sometimes ... just sometimes pure joy. I take these moments as a blessing. This is what keeps me going back for more.” Obiena expressed gratitude to his team as well as the Filipinos for supporting him. “To...

Read full article

MORE NEWS

S. Korea grabs silver in mixed team event in compound archery
Sep 30, 2026

S. Korea grabs silver in mixed team event in compound archery

OKAZAKI, Japan — Park Jung-yoon and Choi Yong-hee combined for silver in the mixed team event in compound archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, its second medal from the sport at the competition. Park and Choi lost to Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Rajesh Jadhav of India 20-19 in a shoot-off in the final at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, some 50 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya. The teams finished their regular four ends all knotted at 157 points before India held off South Korea for its second straight Asiad gold. Earlier in the day, Park helped South Korea win bronze in the women's team event, while Taniparthi lifted India to its second straight gold medal. Cumulative scoring determines the winner in the compound mixed team event. Each archer takes two arrows per "end," for a total of four arrows and a maximum of 40 points per end for each team. The team with more points after four ends wins. India shot perfect 40s in each of the first two ends, while South Korea had back-to-back 39s to trail 80-78 at the halfway mark. South Kor

Teen archer voices confidence in another medal after helping team to bronze
Sep 30, 2026

Teen archer voices confidence in another medal after helping team to bronze

OKAZAKI, Japan — Still two months shy of her 15th birthday, compound archer Kang Yeon-seo became South Korea's youngest medalist of the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday. Kang joined Park Jung-yoon, 29, and Park Ye-rin, 20, for the bronze medal in the women's team event at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, about 50 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya. After helping her team to a 229-228 win over Chinese Taipei in the bronze medal contest, Kang said she was determined not to let her youth get in the way of accomplishing even more. "Honestly, people talk a lot about me being the youngest in this and that, but I have been training really hard regardless of my age," Kang said following the medal ceremony. "I will try to bring home another medal from the individual event." Kang has made it to the quarterfinals in the women's individual event, with medals scheduled to be determined Thursday. Kang and her team nearly slashed a giant in the semifinals, where they lost to the defending champion India 234-233. India went on to win its second straigh

S. Korea finishes 4th in men's compound archery team event
Sep 30, 2026

S. Korea finishes 4th in men's compound archery team event

OKAZAKI, Japan — South Korea finished fourth in the men's team event in compound archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, unable to deliver the country's third medal from the sport on the first day of its medal competition. Choi Yong-hee, Choi Eun-gyu and Kim Jong-ho lost to Chang Cheng-Wei, Chen Chieh-Lun and Yen Tzu-Hsiang of Chinese Taipei by the score of 234-233 at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, some 50 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya. South Korea won bronze in the women's team and silver in the mixed team events earlier in the day. In the team competition, three archers per team each take two arrows per "end," with a maximum score of 60. The total points after four ends, or 24 arrows per team, determine the winner, with the maximum score being 240. In compound archery, targets are set 50 meters away, 20 meters closer than recurve. Compound archers use mechanical release aids and magnified sights, making the perfect score of 10 quite common. South Korea lost the first end 59-58, and fell further back after shooting 57 in the se

[ASIAN GAMES] Kwon Soon-woo exits tennis singles in third round due to injury
Sep 30, 2026

[ASIAN GAMES] Kwon Soon-woo exits tennis singles in third round due to injury

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea's Kwon Soon-woo retired from his third-round men's singles match due to a knee injury at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, with all four Korean singles players failing to reach the knockout stage. During his men's singles third-round match against Khumoyun Sultanov of Uzbekistan at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan, Kwon retired due to a knee injury when he was trailing 3-0 in the first set. It was Kwon's fifth match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, following two singles and two doubles matches. With Kwon's exit, all four Korean singles players have been eliminated from medal contention. Hong Seong-chan lost in the men's singles second round, while Back Da-yeon and Ku Yeon-woo were eliminated in the women's second round. Korea secured at least a bronze medal in the men's doubles on Wednesday, as Nam Ji-sung and Park Ui-sung advanced to the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Nam and Park defeated Pruchya Isaro and Maximus Jones of Thailand 2-0 (6-2, 6-3), giving Korea its second straight men's doubles medal. With no bronze medal matches in t

[ASIAN GAMES] S. Korea's Jang Se-yun wins silver in women's judo
Sep 30, 2026

[ASIAN GAMES] S. Korea's Jang Se-yun wins silver in women's judo

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea's Jang Se-yun won the silver medal in the women's -52-kilogram judo event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, grabbing the country's first judo medal at the Games. Jang lost to Sita Kadamboeva of Uzbekistan by hansoku-make, or disqualification, in the event's final at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan. It is Korea's first judo medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Xu Aoyu of China and Kokoro Fujishiro shared the bronze medals. Following two ippon (full point) wins in her round-of-16 and quarterfinal matches, Jang met Japan's Kokoro Fujishiro in the semifinals and advanced to the final after her opponent received a third shido, or yellow card, during sudden-death overtime. It was the first time that Jang had beaten Fujishiro in four meetings. In the final, Jang and Kadamboeva went through the regulation four minutes with two shidos each. The sudden-death overtime was tightly contested, but Jang was given a third shido and the gold medal went to Kadamboeva. In judo, receiving three shidos in a single match automatically results in a red card,

[ASIAN GAMES] 3 men, 2 women for S. Korea in top 10 after opening round in golf
Sep 30, 2026

[ASIAN GAMES] 3 men, 2 women for S. Korea in top 10 after opening round in golf

NAGOYA, Japan — All three Korean men placed inside the top 10 after the opening round of the men's golf tournament at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, while two teenagers wedged themselves among the top 10 in the women's competition. In the men's first round, LIV Golf player Mun Do-yeob shot a bogey-free round of four-under 66 to tie for third place at Kasugai Country Club East Course in Kasugai, just northeast of the main host city Nagoya. He sits one stroke behind two co-leaders, Wang Wei-hsuan of Chinese Taipei and Kazuki Higa of Japan. Kim Joo-hyung, better known as Tom Kim on the PGA Tour, is at three-under, good for a tie for seventh. Kim Seong-hyeon, a former PGA Tour member, is tied for ninth at two-under. Korea is tied for second place in the team competition, where the two lowest scores out of each team's three players count toward the team total. At seven-under thanks to Mun and Kim Joo-hyung, Korea is two strokes behind Japan. Mun had one birdie on the front nine but picked up three more on the back nine. Kim Joo-hyung, who traveled right after competing at the Pre

[ASIAN GAMES] S. Korea reach men's football final
Sep 30, 2026

[ASIAN GAMES] S. Korea reach men's football final

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea rallied past China 2-1 to move on to the gold medal in men's football at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday. Lee Young-jun and Bae Jun-ho scored a goal apiece for the under-23 men's national team in the semifinals at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, some 140 kilometers west of the main host city Nagoya, as Korea moved within a victory of winning their fourth straight gold medal. In Saturday's gold medal match, Korea will face either Japan or Uzbekistan, with those two teams set to play in the semifinals, also in Osaka, later Wednesday. The final will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, some 50 kilometers east of Nagoya. Wang Yudong scored first for China in the 22nd minute after fending off several Korean set-piece opportunities. As Mao Weijie floated a pass toward the box from the middle of the field, Wang sprinted behind the napping Korean defense and let the ball bounce off his chest before scoring off his left foot. Lee pulled Korea even with a header goal in the 33rd minute, set up by Eom Ji-sung's corner. Lee, who joined the national team

[ASIAN GAMES] Sport climber Lee Do-hyun grabs silver in men's boulder
Sep 30, 2026

[ASIAN GAMES] Sport climber Lee Do-hyun grabs silver in men's boulder

NAGOYA, Japan — Sport climber Lee Do-hyun seized silver in the men's boulder event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday for Korea's first medal from the sport here. Lee scored 49.7 points to finish second behind the Japanese star Sorato Anraku, who earned 74.5 point at Portmesse Nagoya Exhibition Hall in Nagoya. Tomoa Narasaki of Japan got the bronze with 44.9 points. This was Lee's second straight Asian Games silver, following one in the combined event in 2023. The objective of boulder is to complete the most routes in the fewest attempts on 4-meter walls. Climbers receive 25 points for finishing a route ("Top") and 10 points for reaching a designated midway hold ("Zone"), but lose 0.1 point for each unsuccessful attempt. With four problems presented in the final, the maximum score was 100 points. Lee did not receive a point on his first boulder, while Anraku earned a perfect 25 points and Narasaki got 24.9 points. But Lee bounced right back to earn 24.9 points and then 24.8 points in the next two boulders. Anraku scored 24.8 points in the second boulder and 24.7 in the third bo

UAAP: Koji Buenaflor readjusts on return to UST, carries lessons from Asian Games 3x3 basketball
Sep 30, 2026

UAAP: Koji Buenaflor readjusts on return to UST, carries lessons from Asian Games 3x3 basketball

After donning national team colors in the 2026 Asian Games for the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 Basketball Team, Koji Buenaflor is back in University of Santo Tomas gold, contributing to his team"s 98-87 win over the University of the East.

PH routs Singapore in Asian Games women's softball to boost medal bid
Sep 30, 2026

PH routs Singapore in Asian Games women's softball to boost medal bid

The Philippine Blu Girls continued their impressive run at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with a dominant 10-0 victory over Singapore in women's siftball on Sept.30 at the Anjo Softball Ground. This is the third consecutive win for the Philippines, which opened the tournament with back-to-back losses against Japan and Chinese Taipei. The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls rebounded with convincing wins over Korea, Thailand and Singapore to raise their win-loss record to 3-2. The winning streak keeps the Philippines in contention for a podium finish as the preliminary round enters its crucial final stretch. Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asa-Phil) president Jean Henri Lhuillier hailed the team's sustained response after its challenging start inthe tournament. “Three straight wins show the character and determination of this team. What is encouraging is that we are seeing contributions from across the lineup, backed by strong pitching and defense," said Lhillier, who is also predident and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier. "The Blu Girls understand what is at stake, and we are proud to see them continue fighting for every opportunity to bring honor to the Philippines. We remain behind them all the way as they pursue our goal of a historic Asian Games medal." Ahead of the Asian Games, Lhuillier expressed confidence in the team's growth and reiterated his support for its pursuit of the Philippines' first Asian Games softball medal. The Blu Girls overwhelmed Singapore with a balanced offensive attack, collecting 13 hits in the shortened four-inning contest. Skylynne Kopia Ellazar went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs, while Mylia Isabel Perez delivered two hits, two RBIs, and two runs. Nicole Adra Hammoude added two RBIs and scored twice, while Alyssa Marie Daniell also drove in two runs. Francesca Altomonte and team captain Ma. Charlotte Sales each contributed an RBI, with Ma. Angelu Gabriel adding two hits and a run as the girls consistently found ways to get runners on base. The Philippine pitching staff was just as commanding, holding Singapore to one hit and zero runs.

Asian Games: Alex Eala assured of at least bronze, Carlo Paalam advances to gold medal match
Sep 30, 2026

Asian Games: Alex Eala assured of at least bronze, Carlo Paalam advances to gold medal match

Tennis star Alex Eala and Olympic medalist Carlo Paalam bannered the Philippines" campaign in the 2026 Asian Games as their wins assured them of medals in the continental multi-sport event.

Eala, Rivera bow out in Asiad women's doubles
Sep 30, 2026

Eala, Rivera bow out in Asiad women's doubles

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino netters Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera bowed out of the 20th Asian Games women's doubles after falling to the Chinese duo of Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan, 5-7, 2-6, in the second round at the Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Japan Wednesday evening. Eala and Rivera defeated Hong Kong rivals Lai Ching Laam and Liu Kallista, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round on Tuesday. Riviera sees action in more event as she teams up with Francis Alcanra in the mixed doubles. Eala shifts all her focus to the singles play where she faces Wang Xiyu in the semifinals.

RECOMMENDED