NAGOYA –
Japan’s Asian Games campaign continued on September 27 with silver medals in men’s table tennis doubles and artistic swimming, while the men’s baseball team faced South Korea in the gold-medal final and the athletics program entered one of its busiest evenings.
Tomokazu Harimoto and Hiroto Shinozuka reached the table tennis doubles final before losing to China’s Huang Youzheng and Lin Shidong, while Moe Higa and Tomoka Sato finished second in artistic swimming as the Aichi-Nagoya Games moved into their second week.
The ninth day of the Games featured 35 gold-medal events across 17 sports, with Japan competing in athletics, skateboarding, gymnastics, fencing, cycling, diving, softball, tennis and numerous other disciplines. The evening program included the men’s 110-meter hurdles, women’s javelin, men’s and women’s 200 meters, and the men’s baseball final at Toyohashi Municipal Stadium.
Japan’s table tennis team added another medal to its successful home campaign when Harimoto and Shinozuka took silver in the men’s doubles competition at Sky Hall Toyota.
The Japanese pair faced China’s Huang and Lin, ranked second in the world, in a final that began promisingly for the hosts. Harimoto and Shinozuka won the opening game 11-6, but China responded to take the second 11-4.
Japan regained the advantage in a tightly contested third game, winning 14-12. However, the Chinese pair gradually asserted control, taking the remaining three games 11-6, 11-5 and 11-1 to secure a 4-2 victory.
The result denied Japan its first men’s doubles gold medal in 44 years but delivered its first silver in the event in 12 years.
Harimoto and Shinozuka had reached the final following a remarkable semifinal comeback, recovering from a three-game deficit to win four consecutive games and secure their place in the championship match.
Their silver added to Japan’s historic men’s team gold medal on September 24, when Harimoto and Sora Matsushima led the hosts to a 3-2 victory over China, ending a 60-year wait for the title.
Japan’s women’s team also won silver after reaching the final against China, while the individual competitions continued to offer opportunities for further medals.
In women’s singles, Miwa Harimoto advanced to the semifinals, guaranteeing herself at least a bronze medal. She entered the knockout stages following a series of convincing victories and remained one of Japan’s leading contenders in the individual competition.
Japan will have further medal opportunities when the remaining singles and doubles events conclude on September 28.
Artistic swimming brought another silver medal for Japan at Hamamatsu City General Swimming Pool, where Moe Higa and Tomoka Sato finished second in the women’s duet competition.
The Japanese pair scored 291.7134 points in their free routine on September 27, bringing their combined total from the technical and free routines to 601.5566.
China won gold with 640.3576 points, leaving Japan second in a competition dominated by two of Asia’s leading artistic swimming nations.
Higa, 18, and Sato, 24, have been competing together for three years and represented Japan at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where they finished eighth.
Their latest routine explored the theme of coexistence, with the performance designed to illustrate how two individuals with different strengths can work together.
The silver gave Higa medals at two consecutive Asian Games and provided an important result for Japan’s artistic swimming program.
Baseball was another major focus as Japan faced South Korea in the September 27 final at Toyohashi Municipal Stadium, with the hosts attempting to capture their first Asian Games baseball championship since 1994.
Japan’s corporate-league national team had enjoyed an outstanding preliminary campaign, winning all three opening-round matches before defeating South Korea 5-0 in the Super Round on September 25.
The hosts opened their campaign with an 11-3 victory over China on September 21, followed by a 15-0 shutout of Palestine and a 7-0 victory over the Philippines.
The three wins secured first place in Group A and provided momentum heading into the decisive stage of the tournament.
Japan’s September 25 victory over South Korea was particularly significant, establishing its ability to compete with a country that has dominated Asian Games baseball in recent editions.
South Korea entered the tournament seeking its fifth consecutive gold medal, while Japan was attempting to win the championship on home soil for the first time in more than three decades.
The gold-medal game began at 6:30 p.m. on September 27, bringing the baseball competition to a conclusion after a week of matches in Toyohashi and Okazaki.
Japan’s softball team was also in action, facing Thailand in the preliminary round following the opening of its Asian Games campaign.
The Japanese women’s national team has established itself as one of the leading international forces in softball, having won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. Its Asian Games campaign provides another opportunity to test the national program against the region’s strongest teams.
Athletics delivered one of the most extensive programs of the Games on September 27, with 11 finals scheduled across track and field and race walking.
The morning began with the men’s and women’s marathon race walks through central Nagoya.
Japan entered Hayato Katsuki and Motofumi Suwa in the men’s competition, while Yukiko Umeno and Maika Yarai represented the hosts in the women’s event.
Katsuki, a bronze medalist in the 35-kilometer race walk at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, was competing in his third consecutive Asian Games.
Suwa, who won the Japanese national marathon race walk championship earlier in 2026, was making his Asian Games debut.
The event was particularly significant for Suwa because of his connection with Aichi Prefecture through his employer, Aichi Steel.
In the women’s race, Umeno was competing at her second Asian Games after finishing fourth in the 20-kilometer race walk at the previous edition.
The evening athletics program brought several of Japan’s most prominent track and field athletes into action at Mizuho Park.
Olympic javelin champion Haruka Kitaguchi entered the women’s final seeking to add an Asian Games title to her collection of international achievements.
Kitaguchi had recently returned to strong form, throwing a Japanese record of 68.92 meters before the Games.
The women’s javelin final was one of the most anticipated events of the evening, bringing together several of Asia’s leading throwers.
Japan also had a prominent contender in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, with Rachid Muratake pursuing his first Asian Games gold medal.
The event was expected to be particularly competitive following Japan’s continued progress in men’s sprint hurdles, with Shunsuke Izumiya also selected for the national team.
Japan’s women’s 100-meter hurdles representatives included national record holder Hitomi Nakajima and Masumi Aoki’s fellow international Mako Fukube.
The men’s and women’s 200-meter finals added further sprinting opportunities, while the day’s program also included the men’s high jump, women’s long jump, women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and the concluding events of the men’s decathlon.
Japan’s men’s 4×100-meter relay team also began its campaign, seeking to build on the country’s long history of success in the event.
The evening program followed a significant September 26 marathon result, when Kazuya Yamashita won the men’s gold medal, giving Japan its first title in the event since 2018.
Mikuni Yada also collected bronze in the women’s marathon despite falling during the race.
The marathon medals provided a welcome boost for Japan’s athletics team heading into the second half of the track and field program.
Skateboarding returned to the spotlight with the men’s and women’s street finals at Aichi Sky Expo.
Japan’s representatives included Yumeka Oda and Setsuna Matsumoto in the women’s competition, while Ginwoo Onodera and Toa Sasaki contested the men’s event.
The street competitions followed Japan’s exceptional performances in the park events on September 25, when 15-year-olds Mizuho Hasegawa and Ian Nagahara won the women’s and men’s gold medals.
Misugu Okamoto and Gunjo Shiji added bronze medals, giving Japan four medals from four competitors across the two park events.
South Korea’s 17-year-old Kang Jun won the men’s street championship on September 27, becoming the country’s first Asian Games skateboarding gold medalist.
The result demonstrated the increasing competitiveness of Asian skateboarding as Japan, South Korea, China and other countries continue developing young athletes for international competition.
Japan also had medal opportunities in BMX freestyle, with the men’s and women’s park finals scheduled for September 27.
The competition brought together several leading Asian riders in a discipline that has become an established part of the Olympic cycling program.
The day’s gymnastics schedule featured the men’s and women’s trampoline finals at Nagoya’s Rainbow Hall.
The men’s qualification and final were held during the afternoon, while the women’s medal competition took place in the evening.
Trampoline followed a successful artistic gymnastics competition for Japan, which won gold through Aiko Sugihara in the women’s individual all-around and floor exercise.
Japan also collected silver medals in both the men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics team events.
In fencing, Japan continued its team campaign with the men’s epee and women’s saber competitions.
The events followed Japan’s men’s foil team gold medal on September 26, another major success in a discipline where the country has established itself among the leading international competitors.
The men’s foil team defeated its opponents through a demanding knockout program, with its semifinal comeback proving particularly important on the road to gold.
The women’s epee team also produced a strong performance against South Korea, adding to Japan’s medal opportunities in fencing.
Japan’s growing strength in the sport follows its success at the Paris Olympics, where the national fencing team demonstrated its ability to compete across several weapons.
Diving also entered its medal phase at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with the women’s synchronized springboard and men’s synchronized platform finals scheduled for September 27.
The competition marked the beginning of another major aquatic program following the conclusion of swimming, which had delivered some of Japan’s most memorable performances of the Games.
Seventeen-year-old Shin Ohashi had broken the world record in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke on September 24, winning gold in 2 minutes, 4.83 seconds. He had previously shared the 100-meter breaststroke title with China’s Dong Zhihao.
Shoon Mitsunaga also established a Japanese record in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, while Tomoyuki Matsushita and several other Japanese swimmers collected medals across individual and relay events.
The diving competition now offers Japan additional opportunities, with particular attention on Rikuto Tamai, who has emerged as one of the country’s leading international divers.
Badminton continued its individual competitions, with the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events reaching the quarterfinal stage.
Japan’s women’s team had already collected silver after reaching the team final against China earlier in the Games.
Akane Yamaguchi and Tomoka Miyazaki were among the country’s leading individual competitors as Japan sought to extend its medal haul.
Squash also reached its individual medal matches on September 27, with men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles titles being decided at Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena.
The sport has attracted increased attention ahead of its Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028.
Japan’s Satomi Watanabe, who has established herself on the international professional circuit, was among the country’s leading squash representatives.
In esports, Japan’s youngest Asian Games gold medalist remained in the spotlight following an extraordinary achievement on September 26.
Eleven-year-old Haruki Kurihara won the Puyo Puyo championship, becoming the youngest member of the Japanese delegation to win gold at the Games.
Kurihara, who represents Tokyo Verdy’s esports program, appeared at a medalist celebration in Nagoya on September 27, receiving enthusiastic applause from spectators.
The young champion said he was delighted by the congratulations he had received and intended to continue practicing to improve his skills.
His achievement brought attention to a developing part of the Asian Games program as esports continues to attract competitors and spectators from across the region.
Japan’s Day 9 program also included equestrian dressage, archery, shooting, weightlifting, sailing, surfing, beach volleyball, hockey, handball and several combat sports.
The wide range of competition reflected the scale of the Aichi-Nagoya Games, which feature 43 sports and continue through October 4.
With table tennis and artistic swimming adding silver medals, baseball reaching its championship match and athletics staging a packed evening of finals, September 27 provided another substantial day of competition for the host nation.
Japan’s medal campaign will continue on September 28 with the remaining table tennis finals, further athletics events and the next stages of the surfing, sailing and team-sport competitions.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: newsonjapan.com
