Carlos Yulo wins first Asian Games gold after 'challenging' journey

Nguyễn Thị Hương and Diệp Thị Hương won historic medal for Vietnamese canoeing after finishing third in the women’s C2 500m at the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD) on September 25 in Japan. It is the only medal of the day of the delegation.

Brothers Carlos and Karl Eldrew Yulo of gymnastics bannered the Philippines" medal haul in the 2026 Asian Games on Friday.

MANILA, Philippines — Justine Gumbao and Julius Otoc stamped their class in the Palawan Pawnshop's Kidapawan City Juniors Age-Group Tennis Championships, powering to a combined six titles and emerging as the standout performers of the week-long Group 2 tournament at the Kidapawan courts. Gumbao was particularly dominant, sweeping the girls’ 14-and-under and 16-and-U singles crowns before adding two doubles titles for a rare four-title haul. The top seed in the girls’ division overwhelmed Chandra Felecio, 6-1, 6-3, in the 14-and-U final, then returned to the court to dispatch Marxian Sira, 6-1, 6-0, for the 16-and-U championship. She dropped just 11 games in six singles matches across the two age groups, underlining the gap she created over the field with her aggressive shot-making and relentless pressure. Gumbao completed her four-title sweep in doubles, teaming up with Kathryina Makabangit to whip Sabrina Esiderio and Maurin, 8-1, for the 14-and-U crown. She later paired with Clar to rout Gorre and Sira, 8-2, in the 18-and-U final. Otoc matched Gumbao’s dominance in the boys’ division, collecting the 16- and 18-and-U singles titles to share MVP honors with his female counterpart. He first overwhelmed recent Isulan, Sultan Kudarat leg winner Kresthan Belacas, 6-1, 6-1, in the 16-and-U final before turning back Kyle Ramos, 6-4, 6-2, for the 18-and-U championship. Otoc and Belacas later joined forces in the boys’ 18-and-U doubles, where they swept aside Kurt Alcantara and Krisnel Batilo, 8-1. Other singles winners included Kirsten Mae Gorre, who beat Camille Clar, 6-2, 6-2, for the girls’ 18-and-U title; Belacas, who subdued AJ Rabino, 6-3, 6-2, in the boys’ 14-and-U final; Christine Ann Teposo, who blanked Aleushia Maurin, 6-0, 6-0, for the girls’ 12-and-U plum; and Andrei Domasing, who survived Peter Cabaña, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3, in a thrilling boys’ 12-and-U championship duel. In the boys’ 14-and-U doubles, Rafael Pascua and Rabino defeated Yuki Menoza and Philmanuel Palmones, 8-1, to claim the title. The Kidapawan stop capped another three-leg swing through Mindanao, following earlier tournaments in Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat, as the talent-search continues to provide young players with competitive matches and a pathway to higher-level tennis. The Group 2 tournament was held under the Palawan Pawnshop talent-search initiated by president and CEO Bobby Castro and sanctioned by Philta and Universal Tennis Rating. It was supported by ICON Golf & Sports and the Palawan Group of Companies. TMT

Alexandra Eala earned a first-round bye in the 2026 Asian Games, according to the draw released by the Philippine Tennis Association.

⁠Teenage juggernaut Zhang Zhanshuo became the first swimmer to win seven gold medals at an Asian Games on the final night at the Tokyo pool on Friday, when China cemented their superpower status. Sitting on a lane divider, the 19-year-old Zhang counted out the golds with his fingers to mark the moment after cruising to the 400 metres freestyle title in a Games record of three minutes, 41.28 seconds, ‌with Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku a distant runner-up. Having already won the 200m, 400m and 1,500m...

The Philippine Women"s National Football Team Filipinas ended its 2026 Asian Games campaign after absorbing a 4-0 loss to host Japan in the quarterfinals on Friday.

BAKU, Azerbaijan — World championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashed out of qualifying on Friday and will start in 16th place for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver clipped the wall in Q1 and picked up a puncture, his first mistake since crashing in final practice in Australia. He wanted to continue but race engineer Pete Bonnington overruled him, telling him it was a "fairly big job" and to come into the pits. It was the first time this season that Antonelli, who is romping away at the top of the championship with an 81-point lead over teammate George Russell, failed to reach Q3. He had already qualified for Q2 but was unable to take part so will line up in 16th on Saturday in Baku. It is unlikely to deter him. Three weeks ago in Monza he came from 19th to take the chequered flag.

MANILA, Philippines — College of St. Benilde kept Mapua University winless in four games after escaping with a thrilling 82-77 win in Group A of the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Coming off a loss against Jose Rizal University, St. Benilde bounced back with a nail-biting victory and improved to 3-1 win-loss record. St. Benilde took a 74-69 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game.  Mapua responded with a 5-2 rally to slice St. Benilde’s lead down to two points, 76-74. Benilde’s Ian Torres and Mapua’s Ivan Lazarte traded triples to keep the score close at 79-77. Torres, however, drained another triple with 18 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Blazers. Justine Sanchez led St. Benilde with a double-double output of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Torres finished with 15 points. John Morales added 14 points. Mapua was led by Lazarte who finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists even as Cyrus Cuenco and Yam Concepcion scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. The scores: CSB (82) - Sanchez 16, Torres 15, Morales 14, Ancheta 9, Moore 9, Jarque 8, Podador 5, Arciaga 3, Daja 3, Go 0, Lorenzo 0, Baliquig 0 MU (77) - Lazarte 22, Cuenco 14, Concepcion 13, Igliane 7, L. Nitura 6, Diaz 5, Reyes 4, Ryan 4, Bernabe 2, M. Nitura 0, Liwanag 0, Razon 0 Quarter scores: 17-21, 37-40, 59-57, 82-77

The Philippine women’s 3x3 basketball team settled for the silver medal, following a defeat at the hands of host Japan, 21-11, in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya on Friday. Gilas women displayed a solid inside game in the final but the host team scored more points from the outside to secure the gold. Kacey dela Rosa led the Philippines with six points and three rebounds Yuki Hirashita topscored for Japan with nine points and five rebounds.  This is the first medal for the Philippines in 3x3 basketball since it was introduced in the Asian Games in 2018. The men, however, will go home empty handed, as they fell to Iran, 21-10, in the bronze medal match.

NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament Benilde def. Mapúa, 82-77 Ian Torres Player of the Game #NCAASeason102

ANILA, Philippines — Karl Eldrew Yulo, the younger brother of Olympian gymnast Carlos Yulo, made sure to also bring home a medal as he secured the bronze medal in the men’s horizontal bar at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium (Rainbow Hall). Yulo, 18, the youngest among the eight finalists, scored 13.666 points (5.0 in difficulty and 8.566 in execution) to place third in the field. Nobody was expecting Yulo to make the podium after a ninth-place finish in the preliminary round. The younger Yulo used the Cassina and Kolman in his sleek routine, ending his performance with a clean dismount. The Cassina, named after Igor Cassina, is a horizontal bar move where a gymnast does a double backward flip with a full twist, while the Kolman, named after Aljoz Kolman, is a double backward flip with a full twist.  Yulo and Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi were both tied at 13.666 points, and when this happens, the execution points will serve as a tiebreaker. Milad tallied a 5.8 difficulty and 7.766 execution. China’s Hao Tian captured the gold with 14.700 points, while Shinnosuke Oka earned the silver with 14.033 points.

Karl Eldrew Yulo bagged his own Asian Games medal -- a bronze -- after finishing third in the 2026 Asian Games men"s horizontal bar finals on Friday in Japan.