The Philippines gained its fourth gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games courtesy of Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape ruling the virtual taekwondo event – and making history for his country in the process.
The 22-year-old Kananga, Leyte, native swept Châu Ngọc Tuyết Sang of Vietnam 2-0 in the final to join gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo and pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena as the Philippines’ gold medalists in the quadrennial sporting event.
Historic taekwondo gold
Yape, who settled for bronze in the men’s individual poomsae on Thursday, ended the Philippines’ 40-year gold-medal drought in taekwondo by dominating the inaugural staging of the event.
He took the first round with 500 hit points remaining after draining his Vietnamese rival’s health bar.
The second round was even more lopsided in Yape’s favour as he had 620 HP left when abruptly ending his female foe’s chances to win a gold medal for Vietnam.
Virtual taekwondo allows men and women to compete against each other on a separate mat.
They use a VR headset and the AXIS Motion Capture System while wearing wireless sensors on their spine, thighs and shins to track real-time movements.
Yape had edged Dunya Bushuaib Saber of Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the round of 16 before stringing up a series of 2-0 wins to grab the gold.
He swept Japanese Hayate Suzuki in the quarter-finals and took down Kazakh fighter Rita Bakisheva to secure a finals ticket.
The University of Santo Tomas standout then not only ended the Philippines’ long wait for taekwondo gold at the Asian Games, but also became the first-ever champion in virtual taekwondo at the Asian sports meet.
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Medal record tied
Yape’s gold gave the Philippines a 4-8-16 gold-silver-bronze tally in the quadrennial event.
That ties the gold haul from the Jakarta-Palembang and Hangzhou Asiads.
The national team later had a chance at another one as two taekwondo jins and a boxer tried to join the gold party.
However, Carlo Paalam succumbed to Japanese opponent Rui Yamaguchi 2-3 in the 55-kilogramme men’s boxing final to settle for silver.
Meanwhile, Tachiana Mangin lost 0-2 to Ma Jingyue of China in a closely fought women’s 49-kilogramme gold-medal clash that was decided by the judges after both fighters failed to register a point in two rounds.
Kurt Bryan Barbosa also fell 0-2 to Kazakhstan’s Tamirlan Tleules in the men’s 58-kilogramme final.
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