ASIAN GAMES/Nearly 500 athletes to represent Taiwan at 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) The Ministry of Sports on Tuesday announced the full roster for Taiwan's delegation to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with 482 athletes set to compete in 34 sports.

The delegation also includes 150 coaches. Athletics has the largest contingent with 37 competitors, followed by esports with 33.

Taiwan finished sixth in the medals table at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, winning 19 gold, 20 silver and 28 bronze medals, including seven golds in roller skating.

However, roller skating, along with Go and bridge, which together accounted for nine of Taiwan's gold medals in Hangzhou, will not be contested at this year's Games in Japan.

The roster features several of Taiwan's best-known athletes, including Olympic boxing champion Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), badminton veteran Chou Tien-chen (周天成), who will be making his fifth Asian Games appearance, and judoka Yang Yung-wei (楊勇緯), silver medalist in the men's 60-kilogram event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Veteran shooter Lin Yi-chun (林怡君), who turned 45 on July 5, is set to compete in her eighth Asian Games.

The 24-man baseball squad includes 13 professional players, headlined by Boston Red Sox infielder Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Gu Lin Ruei-yang (古林睿煬) and Hsu Jo-hsi (徐若熙).

Whether players such as Cheng will ultimately be available to represent Taiwan remains uncertain because the 2026 professional baseball season will still be in progress when the Asian Games begin.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.