READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines– Memories of her historic Olympic gold medal in Tokyo came flooding back for Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo as she served as one of the torchbearers for the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games on Thursday. After completing her segment of the relay, Diaz-Naranjo was met

The Asian Games in Japan were facing more accusations of poor organization Friday with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday, but the build-up has

Check the Team Philippines schedule at the 2026 Asian Games, including dates for basketball, boxing, swimming, athletics, weightlifting and other sports.

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Two-time Olympic weightlifter Elreen Ando is determined to add the Asian Games medal to her collection in the Aichi-Nagoya edition, which formally opens on Saturday. “I’m really excited, and hopefully, I can win another medal at the upcoming Asian Games,” Ando said

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine men’s U-23 football team absorbed a 2-0 loss to Vietnam on Friday in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 at Minato Soccer Field. Two goals courtesy of Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Le Phat crushed any hopes of the Philippines getting a famous result as it ended up losing a second straight match

Carlos Yulo eyes two more Olympic stints through 2032, but first turns his focus to the 2026 Asian Games and a potential gold-medal run for the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines–Defending champion San Beda and Jose Rizal University’s NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball game was suspended Friday due to problems at the venue at San Juan Arena. The game was stopped midway through the opening quarter after multiple players slipped on the hardwood. READ: San Beda embraces tough challenge as team to beat in

Alexandra Eala has secured the third seed in the Singapore Tennis Open, emerging as the tournament"s third-highest-ranked player based on the WTA list released Friday.

Asia's Olympic chief said Friday that he wished the Asian Games in Japan had an athletes' village and hinted that future editions of the multisport event could be even bigger.

NAGOYA, Japan — The Asian Games in Japan were on Friday facing more accusations of poor organization with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday, but the build-up has been soured by several issues. That includes a shortage of rooms for the more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a bigger number than the Olympics. Some teams have also criticized the quality of the accommodation, including beds that are too short. To save money there is no athletes’ village, organizers instead putting competitors in hotels, temporary cabins and on a cruise ship. Organizers say the accommodation is safe, cost-effective and comfortable. Chinese gymnast Zhang Boheng, who won two silver medals at the Paris Olympics and has two world championship titles to his name, said he and some of his teammates were left waiting for six hours after landing on Wednesday. “I’m totally exhausted,” he said in a video published Thursday and shared widely on Chinese social media. “I didn’t expect that after breakfast at 7:00 a.m. the next time I could eat would be close to 7:00 pm,” the 26-year-old said. He said the wait was caused by registration and paperwork, before heading to the cruise ship where 4,000 Games participants will be housed in Nagoya’s port area. But when they arrived at the ship, he said heavy rain prevented them from boarding. “A whole day was basically wasted like this,” added Zhang. “In the end we really couldn’t take it any more so we decided to book rooms at a hotel to rest.” The video has since been taken down but Chinese state media said that other Chinese athletes also faced travel delays upon arrival. Beijing’s consulate in Nagoya contacted Chinese citizens in the area to give the badminton team lifts after issues with a shuttle bus and a shortage of public transport tickets, Xinhua reported. Chinese social media users applauded athletes, including table tennis star Sun Yingsha, for stretching and exercising at the airport. The hashtag “Asian Games absurd” has since been viewed more than 94 million times on Weibo. India’s team had similar delays at the airport. “There was an issue in getting accreditation for athletes at the airport during immigration. There were long queues with a lot of other nations there,” India’s chef de mission and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) treasurer Sahdev Yadav told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “But these things happen and we have got everything sorted. He added: “These are all teething problems and our focus is now on performance.” Warlord controversy South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that some of the country’s athletes waited at the airport for more than five hours on Thursday. “We are aware of the situation including reports that athletes have had to wait for hours and we are doing our best to handle it,” a Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) official told AFP. Also on Friday, the KSOC said it had filed a complaint with Games organizers for featuring a Japanese warlord at a welcoming ceremony. The event on Tuesday included a person dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who led Japan’s invasions of Korea in 1592-1598, and the ceremony prompted a backlash in South Korea. Historical issues are sensitive between South Korea and Japan, with Hideyoshi’s invasion a significant episode in Korean history and Korea under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. There was no immediate response from the Olympic Council of Asia or the local organizing committee.

FILIPINO-AMERICAN guard Jordan Clarkson of the New York Knicks has expressed a strong desire to represent the Philippines again as Gilas Pilipinas fights for a spot in the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. The 34-year-old Clarkson shared his thoughts during the Sept. 5, 2026 issue of GQ Philippines. “Another World Cup is coming up, and I want to be there,” Clarkson said, when sought to share his thoughts about playing for the Philippine team. “There haven’t been so many Filipino Americans in the [NBA] league, and Filipinos, period. So knowing that I get to represent that and kind of change the narrative in any way that I can, that’s what I’m trying to do,” he added. Clarkson last played for Gilas Pilipinas during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which the Philippines co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia. Clarkson went on to average 26 points (second best in the tournament), 4.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, helping the Philippines finish at 24th place out of 32 countries in 2023. His finest moment came against China in the classification round as the 6-foot-5 guard erupted for 34 points, including 24 in a third quarter. Playing in front of a packed Smart Araneta Coliseum, Clarkson finished with five threes against the Chinese as Gilas Pilipinas closed the tournament with an emphatic 96-75 win. Clarkson hopes he could do that again for the Philippines, which, just three weeks back, galvanized its FIBA World Cup bid following back-to-back wins over Jordan and Iran in the 2027 Asian Qualifiers in Manila during the fourth window. With two more windows left, the Philippines will try its best to sweep its last four games in the November 2026 and February 2027 windows. The Philippines will enter the November window with an even 4-4 record, just a game behind Iran and Jordan, which share similar 5-3 slates, in Group E standings. Australia carries an immaculate 8-0 record and New Zealand is second with a 6-2 card. The top three teams will earn outright FIBA World Cup slots, while the best fourth-placed squad between Groups E and F will also secure a spot in the Doha tournament.

The Asian Games in Japan were facing more accusations of poor organization Friday with a world champion gymnast "totally exhausted", the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord.