Yape wins first Asian Games virtual taekwondo gold
The Philippine athlete won the mixed individual final 2–0 in Toyohashi on 2 October. The Asian Games esports programme also concluded that day.
Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape of the Philippines won the first Asian Games virtual taekwondo gold medal on 2 October at Toyohashi City General Gymnasium in Japan. Vietnam's Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang took silver, while Rita Bakisheva of Kazakhstan and Darren Yap of Singapore shared bronze. Virtual taekwondo was making its debut as an official medal event at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
The mixed individual event brought men and women into the same competition without weight categories. Athletes used virtual-reality headsets and motion-tracking equipment, with their physical movements translated into a digital contest without direct contact between opponents.
Yape defeated Chau 2–0 in the final. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) reported remaining-health scores of 500–0 and 620–0 in the two rounds, for a combined 1,120–0. These figures describe remaining virtual health points, rather than conventional taekwondo scoring. The OCA report also recorded 21 kicks, including five head kicks, and five blocks. Yape had taken bronze in men's individual poomsae a day earlier.
Darren Yap also competed in both traditional and virtual taekwondo. He beat Kyrgyzstan's Alisher Asymbek Uulu 2–0 in the round of 16 and Iran's Amirsina Bakhtiari 2–0 in the quarter-finals before losing 0–2 to Chau in the semi-finals. Yap added the shared virtual bronze to his bronze in men's individual poomsae.
The esports competition ran from 23 September to 2 October at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan, with 11 medal events across 13 games.
On 23 September, Malaysia's Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira won Gran Turismo 7 gold, ahead of Saudi Arabia's Naif Abdulhakim S. Alfaleh and South Korea's Kim Young-chan. Iran won the eFootball final later that day, with Malaysia taking silver.
On 24 September, China's Naraka: Bladepoint national training team beat Thailand 3–0 in the final to win gold.
On 26 September, Japan's 11-year-old Yuki Kurihara beat South Korea's Kang Dongshin 10–2 to win Puyo Puyo Champions gold. Later that day, South Korea defeated Japan to win the fighting-games team event. The event combined Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and The King of Fighters XV and awarded one gold medal.
On 27 September, Japan won Pokémon UNITE gold.
On 28 September, China's Honor of Kings national training team beat Malaysia 4–0 in the final to win gold.
On 29 September, Thailand won PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version gold. China's national training team took silver, with Pakistan winning bronze.
On 30 September, China's Identity V national training team defeated Japan in the final to win Identity V Asian Games Version gold.
On 1 October, Myanmar beat Indonesia 4–0 to win Mobile Legends: Bang Bang gold.
On 2 October, South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 3–0 in the League of Legends final to retain the title. Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker, earned his second Asian Games gold medal in the event. The final completed the Games' 11-event esports medal programme.
Photo: Olympic Council of Asia; Philippine Olympic Committee (Yape medal graphic).
Haoran Shi
Haoran Shi writes where a love of football meets a curiosity about sport’s next chapter. A football content creator now covering virtual sports, he is drawn to competition in all its forms. On grass or on screen, he looks for the same things: the tension before a result, the will to keep going, and a story worth telling.
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