Athletics

Race walker Koki Ikeda returns to competition immediately; Ethiopia’s marathon runner Ruti Aga given 6-year doping ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by Japanese race walker Koki Ikeda against World Athletics, clearing the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist of an anti-doping rule violation and making him immediately eligible to compete again.

The 28-year-old was provisionally suspended in November 2024 before receiving a four-year sanction from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in February 2025 for allegedly using or attempting to use a banned drug.

Ikeda was not allowed to participate in the Japan Race Walking Championships in February 2025, and all his competitive results between June 20, 2023 and November 1, 2024 were disqualified.

Ikeda challenged the ruling at CAS in March 2025, rejecting the doping allegations brought by World Athletics, which had alleged blood manipulation based on abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport.

The case was heard by a CAS panel in Lausanne in May. While the panel accepted that several readings in Ikeda’s biological profile were abnormal, it found there was a reasonable non-doping explanation for the findings.

CAS said Ikeda supported his case with substantial medical and expert evidence, providing a broader factual basis than was available during the proceedings before the World Athletics tribunal.

The appeal body overturned the four-year sanction, concluding that the anti-doping charge had not been established and that no ban should apply.

Ikeda placed second in the 20km event at the Tokyo Games as well as at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022. He finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ethiopia’s Aga handed six-year doping ban

Ethiopian marathon runner Ruti Aga, winner of the 2019 Tokyo Marathon, was given a six-year ban for the presence or use of the prohibited substance methylprednisolone and tampering with evidence, the AIU said on Thursday.

The AIU said Aga, 32, received a two-year ban after testing positive for methylprednisolone, a prohibited steroid that can reduce pain and fatigue and aid recovery, after winning a half marathon in China in March.

It added four years to the ban after finding she had misled investigators during an interview and submitted a fake prescription to justify her use of the substance.

Aga has been provisionally suspended since September 10, with the ban running from that date.

She has finished second three times and third twice at World Marathon Majors.

Teenage athletes have headlined some of the biggest Asian Games triumphs, leading their countries to historic gold medals, breaking records and cementing their legacy as formidable forces in the field.

Far from being intimidated by competitors double or triple their age, these schoolchildren remained cool and unfazed as they cruised to gold at their Asian Games debut.

Many are already familiar with the pressure and expectations of the world stage and have dominated their sport all season.

Al Jazeera Sport looks at some of the stars who left their mark in Japan:

Yu Zidi, 13

China: Swimming 

At just 13, Yu was named female Most Valuable Player (MVP), as she bagged three gold medals and broke as many Asian Games records in a fairytale debut.

The schoolgirl stormed to victory in the women’s 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m individual medley (IM) and had a comfortable lead over her competitors.

Her time of two minutes and 6.10 seconds (2:06.10) in the 200m IM stands as a world junior record and second-fastest time ever.

“I don’t think I am what people describe as a prodigy,” she said after being crowned MVP. “I will continue to train hard, push myself and work alongside young athletes across Asia to inspire more young people to love and take part in sports, especially swimming.”

Zhang Zhanshuo, 19

China: Swimming

Zhang held up seven fingers after his 400m freestyle win to count out his gold medals at the Games – the most at this edition, and more than what 27 of the 45 participating nations had in their medal tally at the conclusion of the event.

He set Games records in the 400m and 800m freestyle, an Asian record in the 200m, and helped power China to gold and Asian records in the men’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

But the 19-year-old has bigger victories in sight.

“The Asian Games is not the goal. I’m still aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” he said.

The teenager’s haul helped China sign off from swimming with 30 golds out of 41 medal events in the pool, with chief rival Japan a distant second with seven titles.

Shin Ohashi, 17

Japan: Swimming 

Ohashi broke the world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke (2:04.83) in front of a home crowd to become the first swimmer under the 2:05 mark.

The gold added to his title in the 100m breaststroke shared with China’s Dong Zhihao, bronze in the 50m breaststroke, and silver in the mixed and men’s 4x100m medley relays.

The teenager said he was surprised and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew who he was, after the Frenchman described the 17-year-old as a “scary” prospect ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I respect him because I know just how strong he is. But if I want to win, he’s someone I know I’ll have to beat.”

Ohashi’s world record performance came just a week after the teenager recovered from COVID-19.

Yan Ziyi, 18

China: Athletics 

Yan was already javelin world number one and Asian record holder when she stepped onto the field for her Games debut – her first and only throw of 70.46 metres was enough for gold and a Games record.

It was the sixth-best of all time and well ahead of Olympic champion and home hero Haruka Kitaguchi’s 62.70m.

Yan is closing in on the world record of 72.28m set by Barbora Spotakova in 2008. In May, she hurled a world-leading, record-breaking 71.74m to open an unprecedented season.

Chen Yujie, 17

China: Athletics

Chen stormed to a new Games record in the women’s 100m en route to her first gold as she announced herself as the new sprint queen in Asia.

“I have no limits,” was her response when asked how much faster she hopes to run.

She followed up her podium finish with a silver in the 200m and gold in the women’s and mixed 4x100m relays.

Taiju Goto, 17

Japan: Athletics

Goto narrowly missed gold in the men’s 400m hurdles, but his 47.93s was enough for a world under-18 best time, Asian under-20 best time, and a new personal best.

The teen star has run sub-50 seconds eight times this season alone, an impressive feat for a 17-year-old. His Asian Games silver added to the World Under-20 one he bagged in August.

Kumkum Mohod, 17

India: Archery

Mohod scripted history for India when she became the first Indian to win an individual recurve archery gold at the Games. The 17-year-old helped India to gold in the women’s team recurve, and partnered with Dhiraj Bommadevara for mixed team silver.

Mohod’s gold was no stroke of luck; she defeated South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals before dominating China’s Zhu Jingyi in the semifinals.

“Ever since I’ve made it to the national team, I’ve been visualising this moment. I had visualised shooting an X, and that is exactly what happened,” she told reporters after the match, according to Indian media.

Anahat Singh, 18

India: Squash

World junior champion Anahat Singh has been India’s finest in the sport for several years now. Despite only being 18, Aichi-Nagoya was Singh’s second Asian Games outing after competing at Hangzhou 2023, where she won two bronze medals in the mixed doubles and women’s team events.

This time round, she won a silver in the women’s singles against world number five Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia. However, her semifinal match against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe was what she called the “best win” of her career after producing a stellar comeback to defeat the world number six.

Yuki Kurihara, 11

Japan: e-sports

At just 11 years of age, e-sports prodigy Kurihara became the youngest gold medallist in Asian Games history when he won Puyo Puyo Champions.

“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” Kurihara said after his final, where he barely broke a sweat.

Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school – where he still studies – and soon started competing and winning in tournaments. He obtained his pro licence in April this year and regularly beats adults, often triple his age.

Ku Yong-yan, 12

Taipei: Skateboarding

Ku took silver in the men’s skateboarding park with 87.33 points, and was just one of several teenagers – in his case, a pre-teen – who medalled in skateboarding at the Games.

Japan’s Izuru Nagahara, 15, took gold in the event. China’s Zhu Yuanling, also 15, won gold in the women’s street skateboarding competition.

China’s Cao Shiqi finished fourth in women’s skateboarding park and was the youngest athlete in China’s delegation at the Games.

Chinese divers were unstoppable as the country’s sizeable overall tally of gold medals swelled to 150.

China’s divers extended their remarkable Asian Games unbeaten record stretching back to 1974 as a top Japanese official apologised for “inconveniences” that have dogged the continent’s premier sporting event.

Chinese divers were unstoppable once more on Wednesday as the country’s sizeable overall tally of gold medals swelled to 150 with four days left.

Hosts Japan are a distant second with 50 golds, ahead of South Korea with 24.

Chen Yiwen and Lian Junjie each won gold in the final two diving events to give China a 14th consecutive clean sweep in the sport.

China has won every diving gold medal since their first Asian Games appearance 52 years ago.

“Girls are every bit as capable as boys. We are pushing ourselves to perform more difficult dives, too,” said Chen, a double Paris Olympics champion.

“We do not train any less than the boys,” she added.

In tennis, the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala stormed into the semifinals, cheered on by fans who had come from far and wide to see their hero in action.

The world number 18 and favourite for women’s singles gold had to work hard early on to beat Taiwan’s England-born Joanna Garland 7-5, 6-0 in her second outing in Nagoya.

The winner of the tournament qualifies for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“Representing my country and playing these types of games, SEA Games, Asian Games and hopefully the Olympics, they’re very close to my heart and a big part of my dreams,” said Eala.

She plays China’s Wang Xiyu, ranked 85, next.

Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting, the Olympic champion who found herself embroiled in a major gender row at Paris 2024, is guaranteed at least a silver medal.

Lin outclassed Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan 5-0 in the women’s 60kg class to surge into the final, putting her one win from a second Asian Games gold.

The 30-year-old thanked the medical team afterwards for treating the cut to her nose she suffered in the quarterfinals.

In football, South Korea scored an 82nd-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over China in the men’s semifinals.

They will face Japan for gold after the hosts pulled through against Uzbekistan 9-8 on penalties, the game having ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.

‘We must apologise’

Meanwhile, on Wednesday Nagoya’s mayor apologised to athletes for “inconveniences” at the games following a string of complaints.

The event has been marred by problems including a shortage of beds and issues with transport.

There are more than 17,000 athletes and officials, more than the Olympics, and countries have accused local organisers of mismanagement.

“We must offer our apologies to the athletes and others affected by these inconveniences,” said Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who is also acting chairman of the local organising committee.

“We must sincerely reflect on the mishandling that occurred,” he added.

Unlike past games, there is no athletes’ village, with participants instead sleeping in temporary wooden units, on a cruise ship and in hotels to save money.

Repeated incidents of organisational failure at the Asian Games have left athletes frustrated, exhausted and disappointed as rain-delayed matches became the latest headache for host nation Japan.

A glitzy opening ceremony did little to overshadow the growing accommodation crisis, logistical gaffes and scheduling issues that have headlined the Games, which opened on September 19 in Aichi-Nagoya.

India’s multiple-Olympic medallist PV Sindhu lamented a badminton schedule that saw her play three matches within 18 hours.

“Three matches in 18 hours. Back at 3am, out again at 8:30am. It took a toll,” Sindhu wrote on social media after her quarterfinal exit on Sunday.

Pakistan’s volleyball team was mistakenly taken to the wrong gymnasium an hour before the start of its preliminary round match, forcing its members to change into their kits on the bus and leaving them without enough time for a warm-up.

“Japan has destroyed the dignity and discipline of the Asian Games,” men’s captain Murad Jehan wrote in a now-deleted video on his Instagram account as the team travelled to their match against Uzbekistan, which they won 3-0. “Really disappointing situation.”

He said athletes would often return from training to find their hotel restaurant closed, leaving them unable to eat. “This situation at Asian Games is not acceptable.”

The South Korean men’s basketball team faced a similar incident when they missed a light practice session hours before their final after their shuttle bus did not show up on time. Team officials said they received no explanation.

It was a repeat of what the men’s football team faced when the bus did not arrive at the team’s hotel. A day earlier, the bus took the athletes to a baseball ground instead of the Mizuho Rugby Stadium, causing a 30-minute delay.

‘Rain has ruined everything’

On Monday, persistent rain became the organisers’ latest headache when it disrupted several competitions, including tennis, surfing and cricket.

Both the men’s cricket quarterfinals between Pakistan-Hong Kong and India-Afghanistan were washed out after the playing field was drenched at Korogi Athletic Park on the outskirts of Nagoya.

With no contingency built into the schedule for rained-off matches, Pakistan and India advanced to the semifinals of the T20 tournament by virtue of their higher rankings.

It was a bitter pill for Afghanistan, who saw the gold medal go to India due to the rankings rule three years ago when their Hangzhou Games final was abandoned due to rain.

“The rain started yesterday, so hard luck for us,” Afghanistan opener Mohammed Akram said.

“We would have been happy to play here with India. Our players are in form.

“But unfortunately the rain has ruined everything.”

Typhoon Surigae lashed southern Japan’s Okinawa prefecture on Monday and was projected to track northeast towards central Japan and the Tokyo region by midweek, raising the prospect of strong winds and heavy rain further disrupting the Games.

Typhoon Dujuan hit the Games early in week one, causing equestrian events in Tokyo to be suspended although most competitions were unaffected.

The continental sporting showpiece is mainly based in the city of Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, but Tokyo is also hosting diving events while Osaka is hosting football matches.

The rain saw several tennis matches scrapped on Sunday and caused match delays on Monday.

Fans hoping to catch Filipino headliner Alex Eala’s opening match against Thai opponent Patcharin Cheapchandej were repeatedly frustrated at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Centre.

Eala, the women’s top seed, had her match shifted off centre court amid the scheduling logjam and wrapped it up in 55 minutes with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Patcharin.

Poor wave conditions saw the surfing called off early at the Long Beach venue southeast of Nagoya with medal finals having already been pushed to Tuesday.

India’s Kishore Kumar Anbarasu was able to complete his heat before it was abandoned, beating China’s Ma Wensong to make it into the quarterfinals on the sport’s Asian Games debut.

“It was not the easiest conditions. It was very hard to find the good waves,” Anbarasu said.

Organisers apologise for logistical chaos at ‘sad’ games

Organisers on Saturday apologised for logistical glitches at the Games that left thousands of athletes with cramped housing conditions and undersized beds that forced several countries to house their athletes elsewhere.

Satoshi Murate, secretary-general of the local organising committee, said a late influx of about 2,000 additional athletes and officials had stretched resources.

“There have been mistakes in accommodation and transport for various reasons,” Murate said.

“Whatever the cause, AINAGOC [the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games Organising Committee] is responsible for providing the service, and I frankly apologise for the mistakes.

“Our staff work every day to identify the causes of each mistake and make sure they don’t happen again. I think you can see that accommodation and transport have improved greatly compared with the early days.”

Organisers chose not to build a traditional athletes village in a bid to save money. Competitors instead are staying in hotels, temporary wooden units and on a cruise ship.

India’s multiple badminton medallist HS Prannoy said that made for a disappointing experience.

“It was sad,” the 34-year-old, who won team bronze, said in a YouTube video published by the Badminton Association of India.

“It never felt like we were playing in an Asian Games, to be honest.”