Asian Games 2026: From Nagoya to Tokyo, Team Singapore united by One Asian Games Dream

Team Singapore marched into the athlete's parade at Nagoya's Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Photo: SNOC/ Lim Weixiang

As the milestone 20th Asian Games gets underway, Team Singapore’s 304-strong contingent will be scattered across Aichi prefecture and other corners of Japan. The bulk of athletes and officials are based in the prefecture’s capital city of Nagoya and its fringes.

The swimmers and divers are stationed in Tokyo, while the track cyclists head further east to Shizuoka’s Izu Velodrome.

Though far apart, the delegation are united in spirit, looking to fly the flag high and make the most of their time at the quadrennial showpiece, with 193 debutants set to make their bow.

Team Singapore has maintained its unbroken record of participation at the Games, competing at every staging since the inaugural Games in New Delhi in 1951. And on Saturday night (Sep 19), the 75th anniversary of the Games, the team was led into the athletes’ parade by Chef de Mission Goh Kee Nguan at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.

Goh, who was chief executive of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games organising committee, was accompanied by assistant Chefs de Mission Aleksandar Duric and Fariza Zabir.

The 82-strong marching contingent of athletes and officials includes support staff from the secretariat, as well as members of the sports medicine and sports science teams. Photo: SNOC/ Kong Chong Yew

Flagbearer and fencer Kiria Tikanah, who took over the mantle from teammate and Hangzhou Games flagbearer Amita Berthier, said: “To be able to carry the flag for Singapore is something I feel incredibly grateful for, and it made me even more excited to compete here in Nagoya. I’m really looking forward to stepping onto the piste, representing Singapore, and giving everything I have over the coming week.”

Meanwhile, fellow flagbearer Brandon Ooi, who will compete in the men’s kayak double and kayak four 500m races, was grateful to be a part of a “surreal” opening ceremony, having last been a part of the festivities at his Games debut in 2014.

“The canoe team doesn’t always get the opportunity to march at the Opening Ceremony, as we often arrive at the Games after the ceremony,” he said.

The 20th edition of the Games was declared open on Saturday (Sep 19) night. Photo: SNOC/ Lim Weixiang

Ooi, who turned 32 six days earlier, also noted that he had gone from being the youngest member of the team to its most senior over his four Games appearances.

“Now we have a relatively younger crew,” Ooi said. “They get more excited for a wider variety of things since it’s their first time. I just hope they have a good time.”

With an average age of 23, Team Singapore will hope that the central Japanese port city, renowned for its industrial heritage and manufacturing prowess, and situated on the flat and fertile Nobi Plain, can also serve as a hub for cultivating a strong pipeline of future sporting talent.

Competing across 27 sports, Team Singapore will see its men’s and women’s 3x3 basketball teams make their debut, while ONE Championship two-time strawweight title contender Tiffany Teo will be Singapore’s first mixed martial arts athlete at the Games. Camille Spaccarotella will also enter the history books as the country’s first representative in surfing when she snags waves at Akabane Long Beach.

Several athletes have also made early trips to Japan to prepare for their campaigns.

The sailing team travelled to the coastal city of Gamagori in early September to acclimatise to the conditions, while the 10-man table tennis squad set up camp in Shimada, Shizuoka for sparring sessions with other Asian paddlers. The women’s softball team have also scheduled warm-up matches against local university Tokai Gakuen University as part of their preparations.

Meanwhile, others are flying in off the back of premier competitions. Taekwondo exponents Darren Yap and Nicole Alethea Khaw will start their Games campaign on Oct 1 after arriving fresh from the Sep 16-20 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Chun Cheon, South Korea. Flagbearer Ooi and his teammates arrive in Japan following last month’s ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poland.

July’s World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong also saw several encouraging performances, with the men’s and women’s foil team finishing 19th and 15th respectively, while Kiria placed 70th and world junior No. 1 Elle Koh was 57th in the individual epee.

Third-time hosts Japan will hold 469 events across 43 sports, compared to the 40 in Hangzhou three years ago, and will welcome more than 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials to its shores.

To meet accommodation demands, they will be housed in hotels, temporary huts and a docked cruise ship.

Adding to the logistical challenges, the Games will also have to contend with unpredictable weather, as record rainfall and the threat of typhoons could disrupt proceedings in Nagoya.

But whatever challenges lie ahead, our Team Singapore athletes are ready to meet them head-on.

Reigning 200m champion Shanti Pereira is laser-focused as she bids to become the first Asian woman to retain the title in her pet event. Her season-best of 22.78sec, clocked at the inaugural Oman Athletics Grand Prix early this month, is also the fastest time recorded among all Asian competitors this year.

ILCA7 sailor Ryan Lo will also hope to clinch gold once more after his Hangzhou heroics.

He will be poised to do so after making history with a seventh-placed finish at the recent ILCA 7 Men's World Championship. Despite narrowly missing out on a world championships medal by two points, Lo improved on his 14th placed finish last year and was once again the best Asian sailor in the fleet.

Wushu world champion Zeanne Law and 2022 silver medallist Jowen Lim might spring a surprise on the mats while distance queen Gan Ching Hwee is more than capable of an upset in the pool after posting a national record in the 400m freestyle final at the recent Commonwealth Games.

Now, with the stage set and the countdown over, the athletes must turn preparation into performance, as they look to add more memorable chapters to Singapore’s Asian Games story.

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.