NAGOYA: The Asian Games produced a mix of heartbreak, breakthrough performances and home triumphs on Thursday, with Philippine tennis star Alexandra Eala’s bid for gold ending in the semi-finals while South Korea’s Huh Mimi and China’s Mu Xinyue made history in judo and esports.
Eala, the top seed and world No. 18, saw her hopes of becoming the first Filipina to win the women’s singles title unravel after China’s Wang Xiyu fought back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
The 21-year-old Filipino had been one of the most popular athletes at the Games after becoming the first player from her country to win a WTA Tour title last month. She had also skipped the China Open to represent the Philippines in Nagoya, despite the possibility of a fine and ranking penalty.
Her defeat meant she would have to settle for bronze and also ended her hopes of securing an Olympic quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, awarded to the Asian Games singles champion.
“I’m really happy to have experienced this, to experience the support ... and to be with the team and, yeah, to compete for the country,” Eala said.
Wang, ranked 85th, recovered after trailing 0-5 in the opening set and will meet compatriot Zhang Shuai in Friday’s final.
China, meanwhile, strengthened their grip on the Games medal table, crossing 150 gold medals and holding an unassailable lead over hosts Japan.
Japan sat second with 58 golds, while South Korea had 30 towards the end of day 12.
Japan enjoyed a golden day in wrestling, with Yuri Nakazato defeating India’s Nitesh Siwach 4-0 in the men’s Greco-Roman 97kg final. Nonoka Ozaki also won gold for the hosts by beating North Korea’s Kim Ok Ju 3-0 in the women’s freestyle 62kg final.
Home favourite Nao Kusaka, the Olympic champion, had to settle for silver in the Greco-Roman 77kg category after losing 5-2 to Iran’s Alireza Abdevali in the final.
Kusaka had earlier produced one of the day’s dramatic comebacks when he recovered from a 9-4 deficit to defeat Kazakhstan’s Demeu Zhadrayev 11-9 in a rematch of their Paris Olympic final.
South Korea’s Huh Mimi also claimed a landmark gold, beating Mongolia’s Ariunzaya Terbish in the women’s under-57kg judo final.
Born in Tokyo to a Korean father and Japanese mother, Huh switched from representing Japan to South Korea in 2021 in accordance with her dying grandmother’s wish. The 23-year-old Olympic silver medallist won the final by yuko after a close contest that went the distance.
“It was a long and difficult journey,” Huh said after winning gold in the country of her birth.
The title was South Korea’s first judo gold of the Games.
There was another breakthrough in esports, where China’s Mu Xinyue became the first woman to win an Asian Games gold medal in the discipline.
The 20-year-old was part of China’s team that defeated hosts Japan in the final of the horror-survival game Identity V. Mu is the only woman in China’s 23-member esports squad at the Games.
Women remain heavily under-represented in the competition, with only 14 of the 534 esports competitors — less than three per cent — being women.
“As the first female player to win the gold medal I don’t think gender is something that should define us or be used as a benchmark,” Mu said. “I think that whether you’re a man or a woman, everyone needs to have enough ability to compete at this level.”
In archery, 14-year-old South Korean Kang Yeon-seo won bronze in the women’s compound individual event after defeating compatriot Park Jung-yoon 145-143.
The teenager said she hoped to earn a place on South Korea’s renowned Olympic archery team.
“People see me as very young because I am the youngest, but I have put in a lot of work, too,” Kang said.
In golf, South Korea’s Tom Kim remained in contention for gold after carding a four-under 66 in the second round. The 24-year-old, a four-time PGA Tour winner, was two shots behind joint leaders Wang Wei-hsuan of Taiwan and China’s Ding Wenyi.
A gold medal would also bring Kim an exemption from South Korea’s compulsory military service.
Medals table
Tabulated under (rank, country, gold, silver, bronze, total)
1 China 154 71 63 288
2 Japan 59 79 79 217
3 South Korea 30 30 53 113
4 Uzbekistan 16 21 19 56
5 Iran 12 17 13 42
6 Thailand 12 11 15 38
7 Bahrain 11 5 5 21
8 India 10 22 32 64
9 Kazakhstan 9 19 36 64
10 North Korea 7 8 9 24
11 Malaysia 6 5 13 24
12 Hong Kong 5 14 19 38
13 Indonesia 5 8 21 34
14 UAE 5 4 0 9
15 Kuwait 4 1 4 9
16 Chinese Taipei 3 12 27 42
17 Qatar 3 6 5 14
18 Philippines 3 5 14 22
19 Singapore 2 6 4 12
20 Tajikistan 2 3 7 12
21 Vietnam 2 1 19 22
22 Myanmar 2 1 1 4
23 Macao 1 4 1 6
24 Saudi Arabia 1 2 9 12
25 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 7 10
26 Mongolia 1 1 8 10
27 Jordan 1 1 2 4
28 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 2
29 Iraq 0 2 3 5
30 Turkmenistan 0 2 0 2
31 Afghanistan 0 1 2 3
32 Lebanon 0 1 1 2
32 Oman 0 1 1 2
34 Pakistan 0 0 6 6
35 Cambodia 0 0 4 4
36 Nepal 0 0 2 2
37 Bangladesh 0 0 1 1
37 Brunei 0 0 1 1
37 Laos 0 0 1 1
37 Syria 0 0 1 1
Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2026
