ASIAN GAMES/Taiwan wins first Asian Games gold in soft tennis mixed doubles (update)

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan's Yu Kai-wen (余凱文) and Huang Shih-yuan (黃詩媛) won gold in soft tennis mixed doubles at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, defeating a Japanese pair in a closely contested match to secure Taiwan's first gold medal at this year's Games.

Yu and Huang edged Japan's Toshiki Uematsu and Rena Temma 5-4 in games (2-4, 5-3, 4-2, 1-4, 1-4, 4-0, 1-4, 4-1, 7-5), winning the deciding ninth game 7-5.

The victory gave Taiwan its first Asian Games gold in soft tennis mixed doubles since 2018.

Speaking to reporters after the match, the pair's coach, Fang Tung-hsien (方同賢), said Yu and Huang had competed together at the National Games, Asian Games, World Cup and Asian Championships, developing strong chemistry over time.

"Their trust in each other has been strong enough to allow them to adjust their tactics quickly and flexibly during today's competition," Fang said.

Fang said Japan's men's and women's teams were strong, but mixed doubles required more than individual talent, "In mixed doubles, teamwork and coordination are also crucial," he said.

"When one player is restricted, the other needs to quickly calm down and refocus on the court," Fang said.

Fang added that Taiwan had an advantage because Yu and Huang had developed a close bond, while mixed doubles pairs from other countries had played together for only a short time.

"We (the Taiwan team) felt less pressure to challenge our opponents," Fang said. "I'm very happy that our players withstood the pressure and peaked in their performance."

Taiwan's men's and women's teams won silver medals Sunday after losing to Japan in their respective team soft tennis finals. With Monday's mixed doubles gold, Taiwan has won one gold and two silver medals in soft tennis at this year's Games.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Taiwan's soft tennis team won three silver and two bronze medals.

Soft tennis originated in Japan and is played on a standard tennis court with a soft rubber ball that travels more slowly and bounces lower than a conventional tennis ball.

At the Asian Games, team soft tennis follows a best-of-three matches format, with the first national team to win two matches taking the contest.

(By Li Chien-chung, Matthew Mazzetta and Frances Huang)

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