FILIPINO athletes who are among the world’s best will banner the Philippines’ 447-strong delegation that will compete in the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Team Philippines will take part in the Games’ opening ceremony today, Sept. 19, at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
It will be the third time Japan is hosting the Asian Games, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.
The 2026 Games features 43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 medal events in 53 different venues.
At the parade of nations, the Filipinos will wear a Barong Tagalog outfit created by Filipino fashion designer Francis Libiran that features a left sleeve that celebrates Philippine culture.
2024 Olympics bronze medalist Aira Villegas and weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos will be the flag bearers.
Leading the star-studded cast is the double-Olympic gold gymnast Carlos Yulo.
Alexandra “Alex” Eala, the 17th ranked player in the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, skipped the China Open to play in Nagoya.
Other gold medal hopefuls for the Philippines are pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, and boxers Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Villegas.
Olympian Kayla Sanchez, who hauled in eight medals in her first stint in the Southeast Asian Games last year, expects to shine in her second Asian Games campaign.
“Yes, this is a star-studded cast. But also, the second-largest number of delegates since the 1994 Hiroshima Games,” said Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino.
The Philippines aims to surpass the four golds it won in the 2022 Hangzhou Games (held in 2023).
The golds came from Obiena, Meggie Ochoa (women’s ne-waza 48 kg), Annie Ramirez (women’s ne-waza 57 kg) and the Gilas, the men’s basketball team.
Gilas will not be around to defend its title, having lost to Bahrain and China in the group stage and failing to advance to the next round.
The Philippine women’s basketball team opened its campaign with an emphatic 86-58 win over Kazakhstan, while the national women’s football team defeated Hong Kong, 2-0, in Group G.
China topped the 19th Asian Games with 201 golds, 111 silvers and 71 bronzes. Japan (52-67-69) came in second and South Korea (42-59-89) placed third.
The Philippines placed 17th (4-2-12) out of 38 countries in Hangzhou.
Sen. Bong Go challenged Filipino athletes and para-athletes to surpass the country’s previous medal haul in the Asian Games and Asian Para Games, assuring Team Philippines of continued government support as it competes in Nagoya.
Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, left for Nagoya on Thursday to support the Philippine delegation.
“During the last Asian Games, we demonstrated that Filipinos can compete with the best athletes in Asia. This time, we hope to surpass our previous medal haul and improve our country’s overall ranking,” he said.
“I am praying and hoping that we can exceed the four gold medals we won last time. We are capable of doing this,” Go said.
The 5th Asian Para Games will follow from Oct. 18 to 24, also in Nagoya.
Beyond this year’s Games, Go emphasized the need for sustained preparation and a deeper pool of athletes, particularly in basketball.
“We shouldn’t be forming a team only when the competition is already close. We need extensive training so our players can develop teamwork,” he said.
He also urged early identification and eligibility processing for promising Filipino American and Filipino-foreign athletes to give them ample time to train and compete for the country.
