NAGOYA, Japan — The first gold medal of the 20th Asian Games was won on Sunday by host nation Japan as a 13-year-old swimmer from China started in blistering form on the opening day of the multisports extravaganza. Japan's Takumi Hojo won the men's individual triathlon in Gamagori city near Nagoya, with China's Zhang Xirui second and Kazakhstan's Arlan Zhanabay taking bronze. It was the first of 469 gold medals to be awarded at a two-week spectacle that has more athletes than the Olympics. Action also began in the swimming pool, where Yu Zidi, who does not turn 14 until next month, was fastest by far in the women's 200m butterfly heats. Teenager Yu was almost 2.70 seconds quicker than compatriot Chang Mohan and will be a hot favorite to take her first major gold in Sunday evening's final. The Games were officially declared open on Saturday by Japan's Emperor Naruhito, but there were a large number of empty seats at the 30,000-capacity stadium in Nagoya. It sounded the starting pistol on two weeks of intense action as the continent's finest athletes compete in more than 40 sports before the curtain comes down on Oct. 4. The event in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture has 2028 Olympics places up for grabs but has been dogged by a series of problems in the build-up. Accommodating more than 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials has stretched organizers to the limit after they decided not to have a traditional athletes' village to save money. Competitors instead are staying in a combination of temporary container-style huts, hotels and the cruise ship Costa Serena. There was a record deluge last week, which flooded parts of Nagoya and a typhoon is due to skirt the area on Sunday night, threatening further disruption. Some athletes were left stranded at the airport when transport failed to turn up and several teams have complained about the quality of the huts, including the beds being too short. And Games organizers were forced to offer "deepest apologies" after North Korea's national anthem was played on Friday for South Korea's men's hockey team before a preliminary match.

FILIPINO Olympic boxer Eumir Marcial will sit out the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, despite coming off a dominant third-round knockout victory against American Omar Huerta in San Diego, California. Following a joint decision with the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP), Marcial agreed to forgo his Asiad campaign to avoid a grueling travel schedule and rapid transition back to amateur competition. ABAP president Marcus Jarwin Manalo explained that the tight timeline posed significant health risks for the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games silver medalist. “I spoke to Eumir right after winning his professional fight earlier. After carefully considering the situation, Eumir and I agreed that it would be better to skip the Asian Games,” said Manalo. “It would be very hard for him to immediately transition from a professional fight in the US, into long-distance travel to Nagoya with a 16-hour time difference, and then into another high-level boxing competition with such a short recovery period.” “Boxing is a physically demanding and inherently risky sport, and adequate time to rest and recover is extremely important. We do not want to compromise Eumir’s health and safety because of the tight timeline,” Manalo added, noting that Marcial will instead focus on representing the Philippines at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (Aimag) in December. The decision came shortly after Marcial’s impressive middleweight performance at the Pechanga Arena. The undefeated Filipino pugilist unleashed a sharp right counter hook at the 1:54 mark of the third round, sending Huerta to the canvas. Huerta failed to beat the referee’s 10-second count, handing Marcial his fifth knockout and improving his professional record to 8-0. Huerta dropped to 15-2-1 following his second consecutive loss. “We sincerely hope for understanding that this decision was made with Eumir’s best interests in mind. His commitment to Philippine boxing and to representing the country has never been in question,” Manalo stressed.

THE Detroit Pistons and Ausar Thompson have reached an agreement on a five-year, $155 million contract extension, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday (Sunday in Manila) because the deal had not been announced. ESPN first reported the agreement. With a little more than a week left before training camp begins, the Pistons have not re-signed restricted free agent Jalen Duren. Detroit drafted Thompson out of the Overtime Elite developmental program in 2023 with the No. 5 pick and he has developed into one of the NBA's best defensive players. Houston selected his twin brother, Amen Thompson, with the No. 4 pick and they became the first set of twins to be selected in the top 10 in the same draft. Ausar Thompson was on the NBA All-Defensive team last season and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting after averaging a league-high two steals per game. He is limited offensively, mostly to dunks and layups, and averaged 9.9 points a game last season and 9.6 points a game over his three-year career. Duren was selected No. 13 overall out of Memphis in 2022 by Charlotte, and the Pistons acquired him in a draft-night trade. Duren became a first-time All-Star last season and the 6-foot-10 center earned a spot on the All-NBA third team, averaging nearly 20 points and more than 10 rebounds a game. His offensive production in the playoffs dipped dramatically to 10.2 points per game. The Pistons won an Eastern Conference-high 60 games last season, finishing first in the Central Division and advancing in the playoffs for the first time since 2008. They were routed by Cleveland in Game 7 of their second-round series. While some teams in the East made major moves this offseason, Detroit did not add much to its young team and lost two key players. The Pistons acquired Isaiah Joe in a trade with Oklahoma City to add a desperately needed 3-point shooter and signed veteran forward John Collins to a three-year, $51 million contract. They lost third-leading scorer Tobias Harris in free agency to San Antonio and traded Isaiah Stewart to Memphis.

UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System-Dalta eyes back-to-back victories as it takes on win-seeking San Sebastian College-Recoletos in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. The Altas (1-1) and the Stags (0-2) face off at 5:00 PM, right after the 3:00 PM matchup between winless squads Lyceum of the Philippines University (0-1) and Mapua University (0-1). After dropping their season opener to Letran, 84-77, Perpetual rebounded with a convincing 83-72 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College. Head coach Olsen Racela noted a clear shift in his team’s mindset following their bounce-back win. “In the first game against Letran, the team lost composure, but this time we played more solid. We built enough of a cushion to put EAC away,” Racela said in Filipino. Sophomore guard Mark Gojo Cruz stepped up to anchor the Altas in their first win, embracing his expanded role on the squad. “I am embracing the bigger role they gave me this year. After that first game loss, all I wanted was to bounce back and make it up to my teammates because I felt bad about how I played,” Gojo Cruz shared. San Sebastián, on the other hand, is desperate to halt a two-game skid following consecutive blowout losses — a 98-72 defeat to Arellano and a 99-62 beating from Letran. To enter the win column, the Stags will need to protect the ball after coughing up a total of 61 turnovers across their first two outings. In the opening game, Mapua and Lyceum both aim to score their first win of the season. Mapua dropped its opener to Jose Rizal University, while Lyceum stumbled against College of St. Benilde.

Iva Jovic doubled her number of career WTA Tour titles on Saturday in the same event, winning the Guadalajara Open for the second consecutive year.

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Fourteen-year-old Prince Agustin came up short of a historic medal for the Philippines, losing to Myanmar’s Friday Saw, 12-7, 12-7, in the teqball men’s singles bronze medal match at the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday. Agustin battled the 36-year-old Southeast Asian Games

The Czech Republic beat the United States to reach the Davis Cup Final 8 after U.S. Open finalist Ben Shelton and Learner Tien both lost their singles matches on Saturday. Jakub Mensik beat Shelton 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to level the best-of-five series at 2-2 before Jiri Lehecka sent a roaring Prague crowd into raptures by

Hosts Japan won the first event of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, but China wasted precious little time racing to a double-digit gold-medal haul with teenage sensation Yu Zidi clinching the women's 200m butterfly title in Games record time.

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines — Agatha Wong missed the Asian Games 2026 podium anew after settling for 10th place in the women’s taijiquan and tajijian final on Sunday at Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall in Japan. The 28-year-old wushu national team star finished with a

South Korea broke Japanese hearts on Sunday when they took Asian Games men's basketball gold with a 67-57 triumph in the final in Nagoya.

Iran withstood a late fightback to beat China 79-70 and win Asian Games men's basketball bronze on Sunday, an achievement that left their players "speechless" after months of war back home.

ARLINGTON, Texas— Paige Bueckers scored 20 of her 26 points in the first half, Arike Ogunbowale had 22 points and six assists, and the Dallas Wings beat the Phoenix Mercury 87-82 in the WNBA on Saturday for their sixth straight victory. Ogunbowale was fouled on a driving layup with 1:19 remaining and she completed the