ASIA GAMES 2026 | MEDAL TALLY

 

ASIAN GAMES 2026: THE BIGGEST EVENT ON THE CONTINENT | NAGOYA

 

SOUTH KOREA BREAKS JAPAN HEARTS TO WIN ASIA GAMES BASKETBALL GOLD

 

Basketball - Men's - Gold Medal Match - Japan v South Korea - Aichi International Arena, Nagoya, Japan - September 20, 2026 Gold medallists, South Korea celebrate on the podium with their national flag during the victory ceremony REUTERS/Edgar Su

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.

Lee Hyun-jun top-scored for the Koreans with 27 points, including five three-pointers, in a scrappy victory helped by some wayward Japan shooting.

"I'm unbelievably happy," Lee said. "More than anything I'm extremely grateful to my teammates."

There was a raucous atmosphere at a packed IG Arena where every Japan score threatened to raise the roof and every South Korean free-throw attempt was barracked, despite a good contingent of away fans.

"We could hear the voices of the fans who came here from Korea very clearly, and I think their support gave us strength," Lee added.

The teams were locked 28-28 after an attritional first half but the more experienced Koreans started fast in the third period and stretched out to a 55-47 lead which proved too much for Japan to claw back.

There were emotional scenes at the final buzzer as the Korean players celebrated with their Latvian coach Nikolajs Mazurs.

"Our foreign coach, he went through a great deal. He came here alone, without his own full coaching staff, to work in a foreign country," said Lee, who could not hold back the tears at the end.

"I always seem to cry when I win a championship. The feeling of winning is so wonderful."

It was South Korea's first basketball gold since Incheon in 2014 and their fourth in Asian Games history.

Ren Kanechika was Japan's leading scorer with 13 points.

"I'm disappointed because we were aiming to win gold," said Kanechika. "We slumped in the second half."

"Korea came out strong and we lost to that, and we really respect their fight."

Iran 'put hearts on court'

Iran withstood a late fightback to beat China 79-70 and win bronze.

China led 31-29 at half-time, but Iran took charge in the third quarter to lead 55-46 and held on to spark ecstatic celebrations.

"To be honest with you I'm just speechless," said 202cm (6ft 8in) power forward Arsalan Kazemi, who in 2013 was the first Iranian to be drafted in the NBA by the Washington Wizards, but never made a regular season appearance.

"The pressure that we had on us is just out of this world," he added.

"Not a lot of athletes can say that, with the way that it has been since almost six months ago, what we have been through, what our families have been through," he said of the war at home.

"I just congratulate the people of Iran because they deserve much better.

"And I think my teammates and I put our hearts out on the court today just to get this win and make them happy."

— Agence France-Presse

FRACTURED CERAMICS TO RECYCLED TECH: HOW 2026 ASIAN GAMES MEDALS WERE MADE

The 2026 Asian Games medals symbolise athletes' dedication and feature materials from recycled electronics, promoting sustainability

This is what every athlete who has travelled to Aichi-Nagoya for the 2026 Asian Games will be fighting for. This is what the athletes have trained for over four years. This is what they will be awarded when they stand on the podium: medals.

The medals that will be awarded at the Asian Games. (Asian Games)

But do you know how these medals were made? Or how much they weigh? Or how much gold is there in the gold medal? Let’s find out.

In a quiet design studio, ceramic discs were repeatedly shattered, their fractured pieces carefully examined as they settled into naturally captivating forms.

Japanese designer Daisuke Shiba was searching for something deeper than mere metallic brilliance for the 20th Asian Games. He envisioned the invisible journey of an athlete — the gruelling training sessions, the quiet sacrifices and the trials endured far from the stadium lights.

Just as those broken ceramic pieces reassembled into a compelling new shape, the scattered fragments of an athlete’s perseverance converge into a single crystallisation of achievement.

This vision of the medals breathes life into the Games’ slogan — Imagine One Asia. The design reflects a continent that once shared a common origin before expanding into a rich tapestry of distinct languages and cultures. Through sport, these diverse streams flow back together.

“I sincerely hope that these medals, as symbols of the dedication and perseverance that athletes have accumulated through years of effort, will further enhance their sense of joy and pride,” Shiba, designer of the medals, told the Asian Games website.

Now let’s get to know the medals themselves.

The medal itself, measuring 80mm across and 5mm thick, embodies this reunion. The physical pieces carry a profound connection to the community.

The top prize, the gold medal, weighs 265gm and is cast in pure silver plated with at least 1gm of gold. The silver medal weighs a gram less and is pure silver. The bronze weighs 222gm and is made of warm red brass, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc.

A portion of every metal was recovered from small electronic devices donated by local residents across Aichi’s municipalities, transforming everyday technology into symbols of athletic glory through a commitment to a circular economy.

This was done as part of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Recycled Medal Project which aimed to promote awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Regarding the design, a competition was opened to design students with professional experience in the field. The winning design was selected by a review committee from among the submitted entries.

When placed around a winner’s neck, the medal rests upon a ribbon styled with the silhouette of the kakitsubata, or Japanese iris, the official flower of the Aichi Prefecture. Sweeping, fluid arcs inspired by the plant’s leaves mirror the power and athletic grace displayed on the field, bridging local botanical heritage with international victory.

To preserve these memories for a lifetime, each medal rests inside an octagonal box crafted from fragrant, Aichi-grown hinoki (Japanese cypress). Grounded in the region’s historical tea ceremony traditions, where precious artefacts are treasured in fine wooden containers, the case pays homage to local craftsmanship.

Its eight-sided geometry evokes the Japanese character for 8, a motif historically embedded in the emblem of the Owari Tokugawa clan and featured in the official symbol of Nagoya city. As the strokes of the character widen toward the bottom, the vessel symbolises outward expansion toward the future — a lasting safeguard for a monument of human effort.

- Sandip Sikdar