THE Philippines goes into the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan with reasons to be optimistic about winning more than its four gold medals from the last edition in Hangzhou, China in 2023.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino, in fact, believes the delegation is capable of delivering eight gold medals this year. Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio even promised additional incentives if the nation could reach that achievement.
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Already favored to strike gold for the Philippines are two-time Olympics gymnastics gold medalist Carlos Yulo, tennis rising star Alex Eala, and pole-vaulter EJ Obiena - all renowned around the world in their respective fields.
But there are still some more Filipino athletes who could also take home gold medals aside from the three.
We take a look at the other gold medal hopefuls of Team Philippines.
ANNIE RAMIREZ
Ramirez will be looking for an Asian Games repeat after being one of the four Filipino athletes that won gold in Hangzhou, China alongside the Gilas Pilipinas basketball team, Obiena, and fellow jiu-jitsu practitioner Meggie Ochoa, who has since retired.
Ramirez is the reigning world champion in the 57kg category, a feat that she recently achieved in Abu Dhabi just last August. Prior to the world title, she became the Asian champion in Almaty, Kazakhstan last month.
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In Nagoya, the challenge could come in terms of adjustment as Ramirez will be competing in the lighter 52kg division since there is no 57kg weight class in this Asiad. But a triple gold in 2026 would be a nice feat for Ramirez.
KIMBERLY CUSTODIO
Custodio is a four-time world champion in jiu-jitsu after bagging the -45kg title last August in Abu Dhabi. For this Asiad, Custodio will be competing in the -48kg class but remains among the favorites even in the higher weight category.
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She captured the gold medal in the same weight class last December in the Southeast Asian Games, her first in the multisport competition.
EUMIR MARCIAL
There is a cloud of uncertainty over Marcial’s stint in the coming Asian Games as he is due to his upcoming TV debut in San Diego on September 19 (September 20 Manila time) against Omar Huerta. Marcial is back in the mix to become part of the Philippine delegation as a recent knockout loss by fellow pro Weljon Mindoro against Carlos Ocampo made him ineligible to compete for the next 60 to 90 days.
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Barring any similar loss that could make him ineligible as well for the Asiad, Marcial is expected to be a contender in the 80kg division where he was a silver medalist in Hangzhou.
GINA INIONG-ARAOS
Known as ‘Conviction’ in the professional MMA circuit, Araos recently claimed the title as continent’s best when she took the modern -54kg division gold medal in the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championship last May, making her one of the strongest bets of the Philippines in the Asiad.
JEAN CLAUDE SACLAG
The same can be said for Saclag, a one-time Asiad silver medalist in 2014 in wushu who could be in the hunt for a gold, this time in MMA. He also conquered the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships traditional -65kg division last May where he beat foes from Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan for the crown.
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AIRA VILLEGAS
In her road to the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Villegas stunned rated foes including second-seed Roumaysa Boualam of Alegria and seventh-ranked Wassila Lkhadiri of France. Villegas will look to continue her giant-killing ways in the 51kg category of the 2026 Asiad where she will battle some of the best in the world, including reigning Olympic champion Wu Yu of China.
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Though odds are also stacked against her, Villegas remains one of the fighters to watch in this Asiad, based on a recent article from the official website of World Boxing, the international federation of the sport.
CARLOS BAYLON
In an event dominated by China, Baylon could sneak in as a gold medal hopeful in the 56kg division in sanda, wushu’s fighting event. In the 2025 World Wushu Championship held in Brasilia, Baylon placed second behind a Russian foe.
There is a Chinese fighter in his weight category in 19-year-old Ou Jiaming, the world champion of the 52kg category in 2025 but has moved up in weight to join the 56kg division for the Asiad. Baylon will lean on his experience if he gets a chance to face Ou in the competition.
TEAM SIBOL
Led by Karl Nepomuceno or KarlTzy, considered among the greatest in the esports circle, the Philippines is also favored in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, whose event is making its Asian Games debut this year.
As a member of Bren Sports in 2020 and ECHO Philippines, now known as Team Liquid, in 2022, Nepomuceno became a world champion in MLBB. Karl will look to add the Asian Games gold to his record which includes two titles in the 2019 and 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
VICTORIA BOSSONG
Obiena may not be the only one that could win a gold for the Philippines in athletics. Making her debut as a member of the national team after a change in nationality, Bossong, a product of Harvard University in the US, will have the 800m as one of her events where the Fil-Am has a personal best of 1:58.52 just last July in the Lone Star Grand Prix in Texas. That time is better than the 2:03.20 set by Tharushi Karunarathna of Sri Lanka when she won the same event in Hangzhou three years ago.
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