{
  "id": 9701998,
  "title": "China stay top at Asian Games, Malaysia eye sepak takraw gold",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/china-stay-top-at-asian-games-malaysia-eye-sepak-takraw-gold",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-25T04:47:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2026/09/1540858/china-stay-top-asian-games-malaysia-eye-sepak-takraw-gold"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: China's dominance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games continued on Friday, leading the medal table with an impressive 85 gold, 30 silver, and 20 bronze medals, totaling 135. Japan secured the second position with 21 gold, 36 silver, and 38 bronze medals, while South Korea claimed the third spot with 11 gold, 14 silver, and 29 bronze. Thailand, the highest-ranked Southeast Asian country, remained in seventh place with six gold, four silver, and seven bronze medals. Malaysia, however, remained at 11th place after failing to add to their tally on Thursday, still holding on to three gold, one silver, and five bronze medals.\n\nThe Malaysian men's sepak takraw team has the best chance to climb the ranks when they face their traditional rivals, Thailand, in the team regu final later today. As of 12pm, the medal standings stood as follows: China in first place, Japan in second, South Korea in third, Kazakhstan in fourth, Uzbekistan in fifth, Iran in sixth, Thailand in seventh, Hong Kong in eighth, North Korea in ninth, Bahrain in tenth, and Malaysia in eleventh.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: China maintained their dominance at the top of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games medal table on Friday morning with 85 gold, 30 silver, and 20 bronze medals, bringing their total to 135.",
  "key_points": [
    "China leads Asian Games with 85 gold medals",
    "Malaysia in 11th place, three gold medals",
    "Malaysia vs Thailand in sepak takraw final"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Malaysia's hopes of climbing the medal table at the Asian Games rest on its men's sepak takraw team's performance in the team regu final against Thailand.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun",
        "title": "Asian Games 2026: Japan Men’s Table Tennis Team Topple Titan China to Claim 1st Gold in 60 Years",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/asian-games-2026-japan-mens-table-tennis-team-topple-titan-china-to",
        "published": "2026-09-25T06:09:22.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}