MANILA, Philippines — Tennis star Alex Eala, Olympic gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo and pole vault standout EJ Obiena headline the 464-athlete Philippine delegation competing in 39 sports at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) submitted the country’s complete roster on Monday, featuring several established athletes expected to contend for gold medals in their respective events.
Eala, ranked No. 18 in the world and second among Asian players behind Japan’s Naomi Osaka, is among the country’s leading medal prospects. Osaka, however, will not compete in the Asian Games.
Following her US Open campaign, Eala is reportedly set to skip the China Open, a WTA 1000 tournament, to represent the Philippines in the Asiad. She previously won bronze medals in the singles and mixed doubles events at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago.
Yulo, a two-time Olympic artistic gymnastics champion, will pursue his first Asian Games gold medal after winning the floor exercise at the Asian Championships in Zunyi, China, in June.
Also returning to the Asian Games are world champions Annie Ramirez and EJ Obiena, along with the Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team and BMX cyclist Daniel Caluag.
Ramirez will attempt to defend her ne-waza 57-kilogram title after winning gold in the event at the Hangzhou Games. She is also the reigning world champion in the weight class.
Obiena will seek his second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in pole vault after recovering from injuries that affected his performance following the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he finished fourth.
Gilas Pilipinas will also attempt to defend its men’s basketball title after ending a 51-year gold-medal drought in Hangzhou. The team will have a significantly different lineup this time, with Justin Brownlee, the only holdover from the previous Asian Games squad, still uncertain to compete because of injury.
Caluag will seek to replicate his 2014 Asian Games success in Incheon in BMX cycling.
Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, who won silver in 2020 and bronze in 2024; Carlo Paalam, who took silver in 2020; and Aira Villegas, who won bronze in 2024, will also compete. Eumir Marcial will not be part of the delegation because of his upcoming television debut.
Swimmer Kayla Sanchez, the Philippines’ most bemedalled athlete at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand with eight medals, will return to the Asian Games after making her Philippine debut at the Hangzhou edition.
World junior champion and world record holder Albert delos Santos and Tokyo Olympian Elreen Ando are included in the five-member Philippine weightlifting team.
Former world junior taekwondo champion Tachiana Mangin will make her Asian Games debut in the women’s 49kg division.
The Philippines will also field the Alas Pilipinas women’s and men’s volleyball teams, Gilas Pilipinas Women, the Filipinas women’s football team, the men’s U-23 football squad, the Blu Girls softball team and the men’s baseball teams.
In wushu, Hangzhou bronze medalist Jones Inso and six-time SEA Games gold medalist Agatha Wong will compete in the taijiquan and taijijian events.
The Philippine golf team will feature LPGA Tour players Bianca Pagdanganan and Pauline del Rosario, Japan Tour golfer Justin delos Santos, Asian Tour campaigner Miguel Tabuena and former US Open Amateur and Girls’ champion Rianne Malixi.
