Asia’s biggest sport stars will descend on Japan this week to battle it out for continental glory as the Asian Games get under way.
Aichi-Nagoya ۲۰۲۶ will see several athletes eyeing first-time podium finishes while others look to defend their crown.
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This year’s edition will see six sports make their debut, while in some sports, a gold medal will double as automatic qualification for the LA ۲۰۲۸ Olympics.
From Olympic champions to teen sensations to breakout stars, Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at some of the top athletes to watch:
Alex Eala, Philippines — tennis
Tennis’s newest sweetheart will be the favourite for gold in women’s singles. The ۲۱-year-old Filipino star is coming off a career-high season that saw her first WTA ۱۰۰۰ title last month and a third-round finish at the US Open.
Eala will compete at the Singapore Open just before the games, but will skip the concurrent Beijing Open – regardless of whether the WTA decide to punish her – since a gold medal at the Asian Games serves as automatic qualification for the LA ۲۰۲۸ Olympics.
Defending champion Zheng Qinwen and former world number one Naomi Osaka will not be competing in Japan, leaving it wide open for Eala to claim gold and upgrade from the bronze she won in ۲۰۲۲.
Rumesh Pathirage, Sri Lanka — javelin
The javelin phenom has been collecting gold medals like Pokemon cards this year, and another one at the Asian Games will add to his Diamond League, Commonwealth, and Ultimate Champion crowns.
But gold is not the biggest prize for the ۲۳-year-old, although it is almost guaranteed after his nearest contender, India’s Neeraj Chopra, withdrew with injury. Pathirage is eyeing the Asian record of ۹۲.۹۷m set by Arshad Nadeem at the Paris ۲۰۲۴ Olympics, which he is poised to break after becoming the only thrower this season to breach ۹۲m twice.
Pakistan’s Nadeem, on the other hand, is far from fit and will be lucky to end his season with a medal after a string of subpar throws.
Haruka Kitaguchi, Japan — javelin
Home favourite Kitaguchi is eyeing gold in the women’s javelin after being crowned Ultimate Champion in Budapest last week. Her ۶۸.۹۲m throw landed her a new national record and is tied for ۱۰th-best in the world and second-best this season.
Surprisingly, the ۲۸-year-old is making her Asian Games debut and will look to add continental gold in front of the home crowd after floundering at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Yan Ziyi, China — javelin
Another javelin powerhouse to watch is world number one Yan Ziyi. She became only the sixth woman in history to surpass the ۷۰m mark with her ۷۱.۷۴m throw in May that became a new Asian and World Under-۲۰ record.
The Chinese teen sensation was unbeaten throughout the five Diamond League competitions she contested, but finished second to Kitaguchi at the Ultimate Championship after withdrawing with injury after one throw.
Should she recover in time, the ۱۸-year-old can snatch back the crown from the Japanese veteran thrower to end the season on a high note.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, India — cricket
As India look to defend their men’s cricket crown, all eyes are on ۱۵-year-old Sooryavanshi to produce another phenomenal result on the pitch.
The left-handed top-order batter has already made headlines for being a generational talent, having broken records as the highest scorer in this year’s Indian Premier League and become India’s youngest men’s player.
Pan Zhanle, China — swimming
The Olympic champion returns to the stomping grounds where he first went sub-۴۷ seconds in the men’s ۱۰۰m freestyle – and became the first Asian male to do so – to break his own Asian record.
It was also on home soil at the Hangzhou ۲۰۲۲ games that he bagged a silver in the ۲۰۰m and ۴۰۰m freestyle, a bronze in the ۵۰m, and a gold in the men’s ۴x۱۰۰m freestyle relay and ۴x۱۰۰m medley relay.
Yu Zidi, China — swimming
The Chinese prodigy was only ۱۲ when she made waves as the youngest-ever medallist at the ۲۰۲۵ World Swimming Championships. She narrowly missed a podium finish in her individual events but found redemption at the Chinese National Swimming Championships later that year with two golds, one silver, and an Asian record in the ۲۰۰m Individual Medley.
Now ۱۳, she is looking to dominate at her first, hopefully of many, Asian Games where she’s entered in the ۲۰۰m IM, ۴۰۰m IM and ۲۰۰m butterfly events, alongside relays.
While training with the China team in Beijing, she told local media this month she was “excited” for her Asian Games debut.
“Train well, don’t slack off. Demonstrate the level of your training and work hard to break past yourself,” she said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
