Cambodian Athletes Shine at Asian Games, Securing Triathlon Medals

At the 20th Asian Games, held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, Japanese athlete Hojo Takumi became the first to win a gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games, competing in the men's individual triathlon on September 20, 2026. He also secured a spot in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. According to the Olympics website, the 30-year-old home athlete used 52 minutes and 56 seconds to finish the race, leading China's Zhang Xirui, the silver medalist, by 9 seconds. The bronze medal went to Arlan Zhanabay from Kazakhstan. Reflecting on this historic race at the 20th Asian Games, Hojo Takumi, who missed the opportunity to participate in the last two Olympic Games, stated, "When I realized this would be the first gold medal of the event, I immediately knew it was an opportunity to make triathlon more prominent in Japan. Personally, I was very disappointed to miss the competitions in Tokyo and Paris, and these Asian Games are a great opportunity to look forward to the games in Los Angeles." It is worth noting that the 20th Asian Games, which opened on September 19 and is scheduled to close on October 4, 2026, welcomed over 11,000 athletes competing for a total of 369 gold medals across 43 sports. Cambodia has sent a total of 106 athletes to participate in 14 different sports. Source: Koh Santep Khmer