Nagoya (Japan) (AFP) - Chinese divers extended their amazing unbeaten record at the Asian Games, a streak that began in 1974, while a Japanese official apologized Wednesday for the errors that accompanied the continent's most prominent sporting event.

Published on: 09/30/2026 - 14:52 Last updated: 09/30/2026 - 15:47

Chinese divers once again proved they are invincible, with China's total tally of gold medals rising to 150.

Host Japan ranks second by a large margin with 49 gold medals, ahead of South Korea, which has 24 gold medals.

Chen Yiwen and her compatriot Lian Junjie won gold in the last two diving competitions, making China completely sweep the competition for the fourteenth time in a row.

China has won all the gold medals in diving since its first participation in the Asian Games 52 years ago.

Chen, who won two Olympic gold medals in Paris 2024, said, “Girls are just as capable as boys. We push ourselves to make more difficult jumps as well,” adding, “Since we start competing, we are all trying to achieve achievements and increase the degree of difficulty.”

In tennis, Filipino star Alexandra Ayala reached the semi-finals with relative ease, amid cheering fans who came from far away to support her heroine.

The world number 18 and the most prominent candidate for the women's singles gold medal had to make an effort at the beginning before defeating Taiwanese Joanna Garland, born in England, with a score of 7-5 and 6-0 in her second match in Nagoya.

The gold winner qualifies for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Representing my country and participating in such tournaments, the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games, and hopefully the Olympics, are things that are dear to me and constitute a large part of my dreams," Ayala said.

She will then play against China's Wang Shiyu, ranked 85th in the world.

New apology

Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, the Olympic champion who found herself at the center of a major controversy related to gender identity during Paris 2024, was guaranteed to win at least a silver medal.

Lin defeated Uzbekistan's Sitora Tordibekova 5-0 in the 60kg category, reaching the final and becoming one win away from winning a second gold in the Asian Games.

The 30-year-old boxer thanked the medical staff after the fight for treating the wound she suffered in her nose during the quarter-finals.

In football, defending champion South Korea and Japan will face off for the men's gold medal, after the former snatched the winning goal over China 2-1 in the 82nd minute, while the latter needed a goal two minutes before normal time to equalize against Uzbekistan 1-1, on its way to reaching a marathon series of penalty kicks after two extra halves, which it ultimately won 9-8.

The mayor of Nagoya apologized to the athletes for the organizational errors that bothered them during these games after a series of complaints.

The largest sporting event on the continent was marred by several problems, including a shortage of beds and transportation problems.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are participating in the tournament, which is more than the number of participants in the Olympic Games, while countries accused the local organizers of mismanagement.

“We must extend our apologies to the athletes and others who were harmed by these errors,” said Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who also serves as acting head of the local organizing committee. “We must honestly review the mishandling that occurred.”

He continued, "There were human errors and a lack of communication with the national teams. We are dealing with the situation based on what happened."

Unlike previous tournaments, there is no athletes' village in an effort to save money, with participants staying in temporary container-style housing units, hotels and the Costa Serena cruise ship.

Early in the tournament, local organizers apologized to South Korea after playing the North Korean national anthem by mistake.

There were also problems related to athletes' buses, as they did not run at the specified times, did not arrive at all, or went to the wrong sports facilities.

© 2026 AFP

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