TEAM Philippines has officially eclipsed its Hangzhou Asian Games performance after capturing its fourth gold medal here in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026.
Filipino standout Jesus Gabriel Derick Yape delivered a masterclass in the Mixed Individual Virtual Taekwondo gold medal contest at Mat 2 of the Toyohashi Gymnasium, sweeping Vietnam’s Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang, 2-0 (500-0, 620-0).
The Filipino jin was untouchable from the opening bell, draining Chau’s entire health bar in Round 1 to secure a dominant 500-0 victory in Remaining HP (health points).
Yape dictated the opening frame by unloading 12 total kicks, including one head kick, and four blocks while limiting his Vietnamese counterpart to four total kicks, two head kicks, and one block.
Riding that momentum into Round 2, the national team stalwart turned up the heat to close out the title with an overwhelming 620-0 advantage in Remaining HP.
He sealed the second-round victory by connecting on four head kicks, nine total kicks, and one block while holding Chau to just one head kick, three total kicks, and two blocks.
Across the lopsided two-round contest, Yape amassed a staggering 1,120-0 edge in total Remaining HP to leave no doubt about his dominance on the virtual mat.
The newly crowned Asian Games champion outclassed his rival in the final statistics, finishing with advantages in total kicks (21-7), head kicks (5-3), and blocks (5-3).
With Yape’s golden triumph, the Philippines has matched the four-gold haul it produced at the Hangzhou Games three years ago while surpassing that campaign’s overall medal haul through a higher silver and bronze count.
Paalam laments officiating
Meanwhile, Filipino boxing star Carlo Paalam poured every ounce of effort into the ring at the Nishio Gymnasium, settling for the silver medal in the men’s 55kg final after dropping a controversial 2-3 split decision to host bet Rui Yamaguchi of Japan.
Fighting out of the red corner, the pride of Cagayan de Oro found himself trailing early on the cards after four of the five judges awarded the opening round to Yamaguchi. The Japanese fighter then took a 3-2 split in Round 2.
Realizing he was behind on the scorecards, Paalam emptied the tank in the third and final round, sweeping all five judges’ scorecards, 10-9, across the board.
However, his blistering third-round rally fell agonizingly short on the final tally. Judges 1 and 2, Jovana Ugrenovic of Serbia and Gintaras Sniuksta of Lithuania, respectively, scored the bout for Paalam, 29-28 and 30-27.
Judges 3, 4, and 5 — Giovanni Garcia Giron of Guatemala, Osama Hanafy of Egypt, and Sarra Bouhlel of Tunisia — handed identical 29-28 cards to Yamaguchi.
After the bout, a visibly frustrated Paalam said constant interruptions from Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev repeatedly broke his rhythm whenever he gained momentum inside the ring.
“I’m so good, but the referee again. I don’t know, not a good decision. I don’t know the referee’s decision all the time. He keeps looking at me,” Paalam said in a mix of English and Tagalog after stepping out of the ring.
“No matter what momentum I have, he would stop it. The referee was really different... It felt like he was always singling me out,” he added.
Forced to chase a decisive finish in the final three minutes, Paalam went for broke but lamented that his fate was ultimately out of his hands.
National team coach Ronald Chavez stood firmly behind his ward’s effort.
“In the fight, we were not really at a disadvantage... It’s a shame, but it’s okay. There are still many more fights. It wasn’t because of any shortcoming on our part.” / POC MEDIA POOL