By Clint Nino Neri

The Philippines heads into the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with one of its biggest delegations in decades and hopes of producing a bigger medal haul than four golds in the last event.

With the Games set to officially open on September 19, 464 Filipino athletes are preparing to compete across 38 sports, according to the latest report from The Philippine Star. The delegation is the country’s largest in three decades, second only to the 524 athletes sent to the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.

The Philippines is aiming to improve on its performance in the last two Asian Games. It won four gold medals in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Games, which were held in 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of four golds the Philippines is defending in Japan was lost as the basketball team fell to China, 105-61. It was the second loss in the group stage, eliminating the Filipinos from the medal race,

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino remains optimistic that the country can surpass the four-gold mark.

Big names lead Team Philippines

Among the biggest names carrying the country’s medal hopes are Carlos Yulo, Alex Eala, and EJ Obiena.

Yulo, the Philippines’ double Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, returns to the Asian Games after missing the 2022 Hangzhou edition. At 26, he leads a 14-member Philippine gymnastics team and will be looking to add an Asian Games gold medal to his already impressive international resume.

In tennis, Eala enters the competition after a historic year on the professional tour. The 21-year-old became the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour singles title and competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments this year.

Eala will be looking to improve on the two bronze medals she won at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

Her decision to compete in the Asian Games also comes with a sacrifice. The tournament overlaps with the WTA 1000 China Open, and Eala could face penalties for missing the mandatory WTA event. Despite this, she has made it clear that representing the Philippines remains important to her.

In athletics, all eyes will be on EJ Obiena, the reigning Asian Games pole vault champion and Asian Games record holder.

Obiena, who leads a 24-member Philippine track and field delegation, will defend his title in Nagoya. Athletics will also offer one of the biggest medal pools at the Games, with 50 gold medals available across its events.

More than just the biggest names

While Yulo, Eala and Obiena may attract much of the attention, the Philippine delegation has medal hopes across several other sports.

Boxing remains one of the country's traditional strengths. The Philippine team includes Olympic medalists Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio, and Aira Villegas, among other fighters.

The country will also be represented by world champion jiu-jitsu athlete Kim Custodio, swimmer Kayla Sanchez, and the Philippine e-sports team, Sibol.

E-sports will have 11 gold medals at stake in Nagoya, while aquatics offers 55 gold medals, athletics 50, shooting 28, and cycling 22.

The Philippine men's football team has also qualified for the Games after India withdrew from the competition. It is the first time since the 1974 Asian Games that the team is part.

The women's football team, which qualified for the Women's World Cup for the second time, had secured its place in the tournament.

A bigger delegation, a bigger opportunity

The 2026 Asian Games represent more than a chance to collect medals.

For many Filipino athletes, the competition is an opportunity to represent their country on one of Asia's biggest sporting stages.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games will bring together athletes from 45 countries and regions, with approximately 11,000 athletes expected to compete.

For Team Philippines, the goal is clear: improve on the country's recent Asian Games performances and bring home more gold medals.

But beyond the medal count, every athlete will carry a different story?years of training, sacrifices, injuries, setbacks, and dreams that brought them to Japan.

From the gymnastics floor to the athletics track, from the boxing ring to the basketball court, Filipino athletes will have another opportunity to show what they can do against the best in Asia.

The competition officially begins before the opening ceremony, with several events already scheduled in the days leading up to September 19. For Team Philippines, the race for medals has already begun.