A different ASIAD in Japan
One of the biggest differences of ASIAD 20 is accommodation. Instead of building a concentrated athlete village, the Organizing Committee chose many different options to meet the large number of delegation members. About 4,000 athletes and officials were arranged on the Costa Serena yacht, 2,000 people in wooden container houses and the rest stayed at hotels.
ASIAD 20 has 43 sports, including sports belonging to the Paris 2024 Olympic program along with sports typical of Asian sports and some new contents such as teqball or padel. In addition, esports continues to appear after being included in the medal program at the Hangzhou ASIAD for the first time.
The attraction of the Games also comes from the presence of many athletes who have affirmed their names in the Olympic and world arenas. Japan has Daiki Hashimoto - Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion and a member of the men's team who won a Gold Medal in Paris 2024. The host swimming team has Rikako Ikee - who won 6 gold medals at ASIAD 2018.
South Korea continues to place expectations on An Se-young in badminton. The player born in 2002 won the Paris 2024 Olympics and is currently world No. 1. The Philippines has Carlos Yulo - who won 2 Gold Medals in gymnastics in Paris. Meanwhile, China brought a very strong force to Japan, with 815 athletes and up to 36 Olympic champions.
Another highlight of ASIAD 20 is the deep integration of technology into the congress operation. The organizers built a data system to serve results management, communication and information connection between locations. Japan also tested virtual reality, AI and robot solutions to support spectators, athletes and organizational work.
With 45 countries and territories, 41 sports and thousands of athletes, ASIAD 20 promises to bring the most attractive sports festival on the continent.
Expectation of gold medals for Vietnamese sports
The Vietnamese Sports Delegation participates in ASIAD 20 with 498 members, competing in 33 sports/sub-sports. The delegation's goal is to win 4 or more Gold Medals, based on the assessment of the existing force and relative to opponents in the continent.
The sports groups with the ability to compete for medals and are highly expected are shooting, sepak takraw and karate, besides athletics, rowing, canoeing, wushu, weightlifting or some martial arts events.
Shooting entered ASIAD 20 after Pham Quang Huy won the Gold Medal at Hangzhou. However, the gap with top shooting backgrounds such as: China, Korea, India and Japan is still very large. In addition, Thu Vinh, Thuy Trang or Ha Minh Thanh are also spearheads in this sport.
Sepak Takraw is also Vietnam's fulcrum after the historic Gold Medal at ASIAD 19. The team continues to compete with Thailand and strong opponents in the region. Karate brings a combination of experienced martial artists and a group of young athletes. Faces like Hoang Thi My Tam, Dinh Thi Huong or Nguyen Ngoc Tram are expected to create positive results in sparring events.
Vietnamese athletics has 32 members, competing in 16 events, striving to win 1 Gold Medal, 1 Silver Medal and 2 Bronze Medals. Among them, the 4x400m men's and women's relay teams are noteworthy events, as both teams have just won Gold Medals at the 2026 Asian Relay Championships.
In addition, in the group of key sports, women's volleyball and men's/women's football also set specific goals to reach the quarter-finals of ASIAD. This is also an important stepping stone for teams to prepare forces and expertise towards international tournaments in the near future.
