Asian Games 2026: Aleef Savours Games Experience as Esports Athletes Make Creditable Debuts

Aleef makes his debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Games in the Gran Turismo title. Photo: SpexSG/ Chanainut Thongratanachat

Pro e-racer Muhammad Aleef Mohamed Rafik finished a commendable sixth out of 15 competitors in his Asian Games debut in Nagoya, competing in the Gran Turismo 7 racing title.

But his journey to representing Singapore at a major Games had not always been on the cards, given the relatively recent introduction of the discipline to the programme.

“I never thought that I'd be a Team Singapore athlete,” he said.

And seeing sprinters Kerstin Ong and Shanti Pereira, with whom he made sure to get a picture for his Instagram, and national badminton players at the dining hall was a fascinating experience for the debutant.

“I'm like, ‘oh my God, these guys are here,’ and I recognise a lot of them,” Aleef added.

The 28-year-old even headed a few doors down from his competition hall at the Aichi Sky Expo to cheer on fencer Maxine Wong in her semi-final, where she won the individual foil bronze on Sep 23.

“As an esports athlete, to have this experience is pretty cool. So I have to thank Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) and Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for all the support that they've given me over the last four to five years.”

On Tuesday (Sep 22), Aleef finished seventh in the time attack qualifying stage to earn a berth in Wednesday’s semi-finals.

There, he finished third out of eight, progressing to the three-race final.

He opened the final with a seventh-place finish before improving to fourth in the second race.

In the final race, the Singaporean surged into second with one lap remaining, sitting behind eventual gold medallist Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira of Malaysia.

With a five-car pack closing in behind him, Aleef mounted an immense defensive effort but eventually slipped to fifth.

His 15 points across the three races earned him his sixth-place finish, which Aleef was satisfied with.

“(Representing Singapore at the Asian Games) has been very unique,” he said. “I had to train like an athlete for this. Before the Games, I also worked with strength and conditioning coaches from SportSG and a nutritionist.”

Some of the work he did with his coaches included high-intensity interval training, which came in handy when he had to hold off other racers from Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia for 16 laps in the final race.

Aleef competed across two days of competition. Photo: SpexSG/ Chanainut Thongratanachat

“I had to hold them off, and that could only happen if I had trained with a high heart rate.”

A busy but exciting season lies ahead for the e-racer, who is set to compete in a series of high-profile events, including the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship in Pattaya, Thailand, and the Global Esports Games in Los Angeles this December.

Koh mounted a remarkable comeback against Pivovarov for a spot in the last eight. Photo: SNOC/ Lim Weixiang

In Puyo Puyo Champions, Justin Koh notched one win out of four pool matches to qualify for the first knockout round on Saturday (Sep 26), where he came back from 3-4 down to beat Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Pivovarov 5-4 to make the quarter-finals. There, he lost to Japan’s eventual gold medallist Yuki Kurihara 5-0 to finish joint-fifth out of 10.

Singapore’s six-man Pokemon UNITE team of Bryan Khoo, Tay Leong Jie, Chuang Fu Yuan, Travis Fong, Freddy Lim and Wayne Chua started strongly with a 2-0 win over Hong Kong before losing 2-1 to Indonesia.

“Overall, it has been a very positive experience. I feel like I’m very blessed to be in a position to represent Singapore. And I’m glad we went down fighting… I’m also very happy with my teammates because we never gave up,” captain Tay said.

Singapore won their first game out of three against South Korea in the quarter-final. Photo: SpexSG/ Bryan Foo

“I have gone to many international competitions before. But a lot of my family friends messaged me ahead of the Games, and it made me realise how big the Asian Games are.”

In the last eight, Singapore drew first blood by winning the first game before South Korea beat them 2-1, finishing joint-fifth out of 9.

“We played out of our minds in game one. Initially we were behind, but we won two major team fights to come back,” Tay said.

Inspired by the upsets by MMA athlete Tiffany Teo in her gold medal match and by the historic medals over at fencing, Tay said: “A lot of them may have been ranked lower than other countries, but they never gave up and never went down without a fight. We showed a similar fighting spirit.”

The prospect of meeting his idol and South Korean esports icon Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and the culture of pin exchanging was also a memorable experience for Tay and his teammates.

For now, they will look for more opportunities to bring back silverware for Singapore at next year’s Pokemon UNITE Aeos Crown and the SEA Games.

The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.