The 20th Asian Games opened in Japan on 19 September and closed on 4 October, according to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and AFP. China again topped the table by a wide margin, but several Southeast Asian teams had their best Games in years. Thailand led the region, Malaysia equalled its record gold count, and the Philippines posted what GMA News called its biggest haul in six decades.

The overall table

China won 169 golds, 89 silvers and 83 bronzes at Aichi-Nagoya, according to CGTN, which said 469 gold medals were awarded across 43 sports. Host Japan was second with 83 golds and 269 medals, and South Korea third with 39 golds and 150 medals. The OCA gives the same gold, silver and bronze counts for all three.

India finished fourth with 21 golds, 27 silvers and 37 bronzes (85 medals), per the final tables published on 4 October by Khel Now and The Sunday Guardian, and India's public broadcaster News On AIR. The tables rank nations by golds first, which is why Kazakhstan, with 84 medals but 12 golds, sits eighth.

The Games were not free of controversy. Amid complaints about cramped temporary accommodation for athletes, OCA director general Husain Al-Musallam defended the Games by saying "numbers are facts", pointing to 50 world records broken since the opening, AFP reported.

Southeast Asia at a glance

Southeast Asia's 11 nations won a combined 206 medals, including 43 golds, according to Seasia; NDNews's own sum of the national totals below gives the same figures. Timor-Leste was the only Southeast Asian team without a medal.

Nation 2026 G-S-B (total) 2026 rank Hangzhou G-S-B (total) Hangzhou rank
Thailand 18-13-21 (52) 7 12-14-32 (58) 8
Malaysia 9-7-16 (32) 11 6-8-18 (32) 14
Indonesia 5-11-23 (39) 16 7-11-18 (36) 13
Philippines 4-9-16 (29) 17 4-2-12 (18) 17
Vietnam 3-3-19 (25) 20* 3-5-19 (27) 21
Singapore 2-9-7 (18) 21 3-6-7 (16) 20
Myanmar 2-1-2 (5) 24 n/a 27
Cambodia 0-0-4 (4) 35 n/a 38
Brunei 0-0-1 (1) =37 n/a 32
Laos 0-0-1 (1) =37 n/a 35
Southeast Asia 43-53-110 (206)

Sources: 2026 figures from The Sunday Guardian and Khel Now, corroborated for individual nations by Kemenpora (Indonesia), Bernama (Malaysia), The Nation (Thailand) and VietNamNet (regional figures). NDNews could not access an official organising-committee medal table. Hangzhou figures (the 2022 Games, held in 2023) from VOI, The Star TV, The Post, VOV and ActiveSG Circle; Hangzhou ranks for Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos are from VOI. *Vietnam's 2026 rank is given as 20th by Tien Phong and the two medal tables above, but 19th by VietNamNet.

Thailand: best away Games, led by a sprint star

Thailand's 18 golds beat the 15-gold target set by the Sports Authority of Thailand and were its best-ever performance at an Asian Games held away from home, The Nation reported on 4 October.

The headline act was 20-year-old sprinter Puripol Boonson, who won the 100m in 9.90 seconds and the 200m in 19.88 seconds, the latter matching the Asian record set by China's Xie Zhenye, Reuters reported. "I'm going to aim for more golds and more records," he said. The OCA named him the Games' male most valuable player, and The Nation said he was the first athlete from an ASEAN member country to receive the award. Thailand also beat Malaysia 2-0 to win the men's sepak takraw team event, Khaosod English reported.

Malaysia: nine golds, a record equalled

Malaysia finished with nine golds, seven silvers and 16 bronzes, beating its six-gold target and matching its best-ever gold count from Guangzhou 2010, Malay Mail reported, citing Bernama. The target had been announced by chef de mission Datuk Sumali Reduan on 8 September, The Star reported. Squash delivered four golds, including singles titles for Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari. Karate added two, and there were single golds in sepak takraw (men's team regu), track cycling through Mohd Azizulhasni Awang in the keirin, and esports (Malaysia's first Asian Games esports gold).

"The achievement at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 is also a positive indication that the country's high-performance sports development efforts are on the right track," National Sports Council director-general Jefri Ngadirin said in a statement, as quoted by The Star on 4 October.

Indonesia: target beaten, ranking down

Indonesia ended 16th with five golds, 11 silvers and 23 bronzes, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) said on 4 October, beating the four-gold target that CNN Indonesia attributed to the ministry. Two golds came from badminton (the men's team and the pair Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin), with one each from weightlifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, climber Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi and archer Nurisa Dian Ashrifah. Nurisa's win in the women's individual compound event was Indonesia's first Asian Games archery gold, according to CNN Indonesia.

"We came with a target of four golds, and thank God we are going home with five golds," Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir said in a Kemenpora statement (NDNews translation).

The target was set below the seven golds of the previous Games. Thohir said some of Indonesia's stronger events, including two dragon boat events, were not on the programme, CNN Indonesia reported. Total medals rose from 36 to 39, but the ranking fell from 13th to 16th.

Philippines: more medals, fewer golds than hoped

The Philippines won four golds, nine silvers and 16 bronzes, GMA News reported. Gymnast Carlos Yulo won floor and vault, EJ Obiena took pole vault, and Jeus Yape won in the inaugural virtual taekwondo competition. "This is the best performance of the Philippines in 64 years," Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick Gregorio said, as quoted by GMA News on 3 October. The gold count, however, fell short of the eight that Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino had hoped for at the team send-off on 10 September.

Vietnam and Singapore

Vietnam's three golds came from two sepak takraw titles and one in karate, VietNamNet reported. Before the Games, the Vietnamese delegation had targeted four to six golds and a top-20 finish, VOV and Tien Phong reported. Tien Phong said the gold target was missed and the team finished 20th overall, fifth in Southeast Asia.

Singapore won more medals than in Hangzhou but one gold fewer. Shanti Pereira won the 200m in 22.78 seconds, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back 200m titles at the Asian Games, The Straits Times reported via The Star. "Today is me. Nothing in the world is going (to) stop me," she said, as quoted by Reuters.

What happens next

  • Doha 2030. Hosting of the next Asian Games passed to the Qatari capital at the closing ceremony, AFP reported.
  • Malaysia's next steps. The National Sports Council's next goal is to finish as overall champions at the 2027 SEA Games on home soil, and squash secured two qualification spots for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, The Star reported.
  • Indonesia's review. Thohir urged officials not to write off sports that came close, citing beach volleyball's silver. "Let us not consider it finished just because it has not yet won gold," he said in the Kemenpora statement (NDNews translation).
  • Regional football. For more Southeast Asian sport, see our coverage of the ASEAN Cup.

Key numbers

  • 19 September to 4 October 2026: Games dates (OCA)
  • 469: gold medals awarded across 43 sports (CGTN)
  • 341: China's total medals, including 169 golds (OCA)
  • 206: total medals won by Southeast Asian nations, including 43 golds (Seasia; NDNews sum of national totals)
  • 18: Thailand's golds, against a target of 15 (The Nation)
  • 9: Malaysia's golds, equalling its 2010 record (Malay Mail)
  • 5: Indonesia's golds, against a target of four (Kemenpora)

This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. It is based on official data and media reports as of 14 October 2026.