Chinese Taipei's Yu Kai Wen and Huang Shih Yuan Beat Japan to Win Asian Games Soft Tennis Mixed Doubles Gold
The Taiwanese pair took the deciding ninth game seven-five against Toshiki Uematsu and Rena Temma to secure Chinese Taipei's first gold of the Games.
Yu Kai-wen and Huang Shih-yuan of Chinese Taipei won the soft tennis mixed doubles gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 21 September 2026, beating Japan's Toshiki Uematsu and Rena Temma by five games to four.
The final swung back and forth throughout. The Taiwanese pair lost the opening game 2-4, won the next two, dropped the fourth and fifth, and then traded games until the match reached a deciding ninth game, which they won 7-5.
The victory was Chinese Taipei's first gold medal of these Games. It came a day after the Taiwanese men's and women's soft tennis teams both took silver, losing their finals to Japan. Their coach, Fang Tung-hsien, said teamwork and coordination were crucial in mixed doubles and that the pair had benefited from years of playing together.
Bronze medals went to Japan's Rio Maeda and Kaito Maruyama and to South Korea's Kim Yeon-hwa and Park Jae-kyu.
Soft tennis, which originated in Japan, is played on a tennis court with a soft rubber ball. Hosts Japan have dominated the early events, winning both team golds. The men's and women's singles competitions begin on 22 September, with the finals scheduled for 23 September.