Davao City judoka Chino Sy Tancontian sharpened his Asian Games campaign with a dominant gold-medal finish for the Philippines at the 2026 Perth International Open in Australia on Saturday, September 12.
Tancontian swept his two matches in the men’s -100-kilogram division, winning both by ippon, the highest-scoring result in judo, to claim the championship.
He needed only one minute to finish his opening match against Western Australia’s Joseph White before dispatching Northern Australia’s Kyle Mainey in just 30 seconds in the final.
The quick victories gave Tancontian another confidence boost as he turns his attention to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where he is set to compete in the men’s -100kg division.
He said he plans to make some adjustments to improve his strategy before the continental competition. “I will make a few adjustments lang rin po with how I can better strategize for the Asian Games (with how I can improve my strategy for the Asian Games), and siyempre ngayon all focus sa Asian Games po muna (for now, all my focus is on the Asian Games),” he said in a Messenger interview with SunStar Davao late Saturday evening.
Tancontian said he expects a tough field in the Asian Games, with several judo powerhouses expected to compete. “Marami po talaga powerhouses sa Asian Games, tita (There are really many powerhouses in the Asian Games),” he said, pointing to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, South Korea and Japan, as well as strong Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates. But instead of focusing on specific opponents, Tancontian said he plans to approach the competition one match at a time.
“Actually, tanan, tita (Actually, everyone),” he said when asked which judokas could pose the biggest challenge in his weight class.
“Sa judo kasi, halos lahat may fair chance man kay isang mali may ippon kasi (In judo, almost everyone has a fair chance because one mistake can result in an ippon),” Tancontian said. “Gusto ko lang rin po i-take ang Asian Games one match at a time kasi for sure lahat po ng nasa category has a fighting chance and for sure will be a challenge (I just want to take the Asian Games one match at a time because everyone in the category has a fighting chance, and for sure it will be a challenge),” he added.
Tancontian will return to the Philippines after his Perth campaign before flying back to Japan on Sept. 26 to make his final preparations for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The continental Games will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, with judo set for Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya. Tancontian’s men’s -100kg division is scheduled for Oct. 2.
The Perth gold gives the Dabawenyo valuable momentum heading into his Asian Games debut.
But the bigger test awaits in Nagoya, where he will face some of the continent’s strongest judokas in his bid for a podium finish. MLSA
