{
  "id": 11938943,
  "title": "China or Japan, who was the biggest winner of the 2026 Asian Games",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/china-or-japan-who-was-the-biggest-winner-of-the-2026-asian-games",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-04T13:58:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/china-japan-biggest-winner-asian-games-2026-medal-tally-analysis-10906462/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At the 2026 Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, China emerged as the clear winner with an impressive total of 341 medals, including 169 golds. This haul far surpassed Japan's performance, who secured 269 medals, with 83 golds. Even when combined, the gold medals from the next four nations - South Korea, India, and Uzbekistan - would still fall short of China's gold medal count. Despite this, China still finished on top of the medals tally for the 12th consecutive edition of the Asian Games since 1982.\n\nHowever, the Chinese team fell short of their total medal count from their previous home Asian Games in Hangzhou 2023, being 42 medals behind (341 in Nagoya compared to 383 in Hangzhou). They also missed out on 32 gold medals (169 in Nagoya compared to 201 in Hangzhou). The shortfall in gold medals was mostly due to the exclusion of certain disciplines like dragon boat racing, xiangqi, and chess from the event, which could have potentially won China more gold medals.\n\nJapan, on the other hand, gained significantly in their home Asian Games. Their biggest gain came in athletics, turning around their two gold medal return from Hangzhou to 10 golds. This improvement was supported by several other sports like judo, fencing, wrestling, and swimming, all of which helped in contributing to their overall medal haul of 269 compared to 188 in Hangzhou.\n\nChina's medal tally was made up in 57 different disciplines in Nagoya, down from 47 in Hangzhou. This decline was primarily due to the exclusion of certain disciplines like dragon boat racing, xiangqi, and chess. In contrast, Japan managed to maintain their presence in 56 disciplines in 2026.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "China won 341 medals, including 169 golds, at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.",
    "Japan secured 269 medals, with 83 golds, in the same event.",
    "China's gold medal count (169) was less than Japan's (83) despite China's higher total medal count."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "'What has changed in 17 years?': Rahul Gandhi hits out at BJP over Bihar flood crisis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/what-has-changed-in-17-years-rahul-gandhi-hits-out-at-bjp-over-bihar",
        "published": "2026-10-04T10:50:20.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Malaysia conclude Asian Games campaign on positive note",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/malaysia-conclude-asian-games-campaign-on-positive-note",
        "published": "2026-10-04T11:24:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Today News Headlines for School Assembly, October 5, 2026: Rahul Gandhi launches ‘Satyagraha’, India finishes fourth at the Asian Games 2026",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/today-news-headlines-for-school-assembly-october-5-2026-rahul-gandhi",
        "published": "2026-10-04T11:26:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "UAE seals best-ever Asian Games campaign with record seven golds",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/uae-seals-best-ever-asian-games-campaign-with-record-seven-golds",
        "published": "2026-10-04T13:11:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Asian Games success shows UAE is rising as a sporting force, says President of the UAE Olympic Committee",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/asian-games-success-shows-uae-is-rising-as-a-sporting-force-says",
        "published": "2026-10-04T14:25:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Doha News",
        "title": "Qatar leave Nagoya with 18 medals as Asian Games Flag begins journey to Doha 2030",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/qatar-leave-nagoya-with-18-medals-as-asian-games-flag-begins-journey",
        "published": "2026-10-04T15:08:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}