Asian Games 2026: Gymnast Amanda Yap finishes sixth in balance beam final

Amanda Yap scored 13.033 to finish sixth in the balance beam final at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SNOC/Lim Weixiang

Gymnast Amanda Yap arrived at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games without her lucky leotard, as she had not expected to reach the final here. But she did qualify for the balance beam final on 25 Sep and despite “crashing out” on the morning of the event, the 16-year-old conquered her worries to finish sixth.

She was, however, armed with the special red scrunchie that has taken her to the finals of the 2025 world championships and podium of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Amanda Yap concluded her first Asian Games with a sixth-placed finish in the balance beam event. Photo: SNOC/Lim Weixiang

Amanda, who scored 13.033 at the Nagoya General Gymnasium’s Rainbow Hall on the final day of the artistic gymnastics competition, said: “At first, I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m not going to do well. But then I (realised) that the leotard isn’t really the one doing the gymnastics, and I just decided to trust myself and in my scrunchie. I just trusted in my training.

“I think today I could have done better because there were little mistakes here and there, but honestly I was just happy that I made it through.”

The teenager had come into her first Asian Games managing a back injury. She resumed training her ring movements – which require gymnasts to arch their back while holding their leg to form a ring with their body – just two weeks ago.

Amanda Yap in action during the balance beam final at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SNOC/Lim Weixiang

“Overall, I’m quite happy because I enjoyed it, and that’s the most important. Getting into the final itself was really exciting, and being able to compete against all these athletes who are the top in Asia was a really eye-opening experience. I really tried to take it all in,” she added.

The balance beam gold went to 2025 Asian champion Hwang Seo-hyun of South Korea, who scored 14.700. Qiu Qiyuan of China (14.566) and Japan’s Mana Okamura (14.300) were second and third.

The field also included Chinese Zhang Qingying, the reigning balance beam world champion and two-time Asian champion, and World Cup winner Aiko Sugihara of Japan.

Amanda made history last year by becoming the first Singaporean gymnast to qualify for a world championship final. This year, her silver-winning feat at the Commonwealth Games marked the Republic’s first gymnastics medal since 2014. Her accomplishments have naturally garnered more public attention, but she is coping well.

Amanda Yap reacts after completing her balance beam routine at the 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SNOC/Lim Weixiang

“One thing I’ve learnt is to just ignore all the pressure, because if you let it get to you, it’s really not going to help. I’ve kind of learnt to just either use it in a good way to push myself further, or ignore it and just focus on my training and on what I know I need to know. I feel like I’ve learnt to handle it better,” said Amanda, who also has a silver medal in the balance beam from the 2025 SEA Games.

She will be taking this approach to the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam next month, where she is expecting tougher competition.

“Honestly, last year I would say I got quite lucky because many of my competitors fell. As you can see from today, my difficulty score is not as high as the other competitors and I really have to rely on my execution to try and get higher scores,” said Amanda, whose difficulty and execution scores were 5.2 and 7.833 respectively.

“But just being able to compete is quite significant to me. Every opportunity I get to come to represent Singapore at the world stage would be something I’m really grateful for.”

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.