Taekwondo completed its second day at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Friday, October 2, with five titles decided at Toyohashi Gymnasium in Japan. The Philippines’ Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape became the first Asian Games Virtual Taekwondo champion, while China, Kazakhstan, Iran and Uzbekistan won the four Kyorugi divisions contested.

Following the opening Poomsae competition, where South Korea claimed both titles, the programme moved to sparring and the debut of a discipline bringing men and women together in one competition without weight categories.

Yape turns his second medal into historic gold

Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape defeated Vietnam’s Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang 2–0 in the mixed individual Virtual Taekwondo final. Darren Yap, of Singapore, and Rita Bakisheva, of Kazakhstan, received the bronze medals.

The result carried significance beyond the discipline’s debut. According to World Taekwondo, it also delivered the Philippines’ first-ever Taekwondo gold medal in Asian Games history.

Yape had earned bronze in men’s individual Poomsae on Thursday. Darren Yap, who shared that podium, returned to collect another medal in Virtual Taekwondo. WT highlighted that they became the first Taekwondo athletes to win medals in different disciplines at the same edition of the Asian Games.

Two competitors from the opening day therefore returned to the podium through an event with different demands, moving from Recognized Poomsae and Freestyle to contests between digital avatars.

A mixed competition without weight categories

Virtual Taekwondo’s debut featured 16 athletes. Competitors wore a virtual reality headset and five motion sensors, translating their movements into real-time action in a digital arena displayed on the venue’s screens.

Matches followed a best-of-three-round format, with each round lasting 60 seconds. Athletes could win a round by fully depleting their opponent’s virtual health bar or by having more health remaining when time expired.

The format allowed men and women of different physical builds to compete in the same draw without making physical contact.

Four nations share the Kyorugi titles

China’s Ma Jingyue won the women’s −49 kg title against the Philippines’ Tachiana Keizha Mangin. Japan’s Ruka Okamoto and Thailand’s Patcharakan Poolkerd completed the podium with bronze medals.

Kazakhstan claimed men’s −58 kg gold through Tamirlan Tleules, who defeated the Philippines’ Kurt Bryan Barbosa in the final. An Hyang-sik, of South Korea, and Jafar Aldaoud, of Jordan, took bronze.

An, whose participation in both Kyorugi and Virtual Taekwondo had been previewed by MASTKD, finished with a bronze medal in the sparring division.

In women’s −67 kg, Iran’s Saghar Moradi Sheikhlari defeated Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova to secure gold. South Korea’s Kwak Min-ju and Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-chia received bronze medals.

Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Jaysunov won the men’s −80 kg title. Hung Jiun-yi, of Chinese Taipei, earned silver, while Jordan’s Saleh Elsharbaty and Kazakhstan’s Batyrkhan Toleugali shared bronze.

All medallists from the second day

Women’s Kyorugi −49 kg

• 🥇 Ma Jingyue — China.
• 🥈 Tachiana Keizha Mangin — Philippines.
• 🥉 Ruka Okamoto — Japan.
• 🥉 Patcharakan Poolkerd — Thailand.

Men’s Kyorugi −58 kg

• 🥇 Tamirlan Tleules — Kazakhstan.
• 🥈 Kurt Bryan Barbosa — Philippines.
• 🥉 An Hyang-sik — South Korea.
• 🥉 Jafar Aldaoud — Jordan.

Women’s Kyorugi −67 kg

• 🥇 Saghar Moradi Sheikhlari — Iran.
• 🥈 Ozoda Sobirjonova — Uzbekistan.
• 🥉 Kwak Min-ju — South Korea.
• 🥉 Wang Wei-chia — Chinese Taipei.

Men’s Kyorugi −80 kg

• 🥇 Jasurbek Jaysunov — Uzbekistan.
• 🥈 Hung Jiun-yi — Chinese Taipei.
• 🥉 Saleh Elsharbaty — Jordan.
• 🥉 Batyrkhan Toleugali — Kazakhstan.

Mixed Individual Virtual Taekwondo

• 🥇 Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape — Philippines.
• 🥈 Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang — Vietnam.
• 🥉 Darren Yap — Singapore.
• 🥉 Rita Bakisheva — Kazakhstan.

Four divisions remain for the final day

Taekwondo competition will conclude on Saturday, October 3, with the four remaining Kyorugi divisions: women’s −57 kg and +67 kg, and men’s −68 kg and +80 kg.

With Poomsae and Virtual Taekwondo already decided, Toyohashi will host the final medal contests. By the end of the competition, Aichi-Nagoya 2026 will have awarded all 11 Taekwondo titles: two in Poomsae, eight in Kyorugi and one in Virtual Taekwondo.

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