NAGOYA – Despite several historic breakthroughs for Team Singapore at the 2026 Asian Games, the Republic’s two-gold haul in Japan was its lowest at the quadrennial event in 28 years, highlighting the increasingly competitive landscape on the continent.

While the 18 medals (2-9-7) won at the Sept 19 to Oct 4 Asiad exceeded the haul of 16 (3-6-7) from Hangzhou three years ago, Singapore claimed one less gold than they did in China.

At the Team Singapore wrap-up conference on Oct 4, High Performance Sport Institute (HPSI) chief Low Jia Ren acknowledged that the medal return was lower than in recent Asiads, but pointed to the exclusion of sports that the nation is traditionally strong in as a factor that could influence these numbers.

The 2026 Games did not include sports such as bowling, which has reaped 24 medals for Singapore at the continental showpiece.

The last time the sport was contested at the Asian Games was in 2018.

Kitefoiling, in which Olympic bronze medallist Maximilian Maeder won a gold medal in China, was also omitted from the sailing competition this time.

He said: “Notwithstanding this, of course, the goal is for Singapore and all our athletes to do their best.

“Whatever the event or sport being featured, our role is to help provide them with the best environment to be able to thrive and when we get to the start line, it’s game on and all of us then will be cheering for them and rooting for them.”

Singapore also ranked 21st out of 46 nations and territories in Japan, marking their lowest placing since the 1994 Hiroshima Games, when the quadrennial event began featuring at least 40 countries and territories.

Su Chun Wei, Sport Singapore’s sport development group chief, noted that the level of Asian sports is also rapidly progressing, citing the performance of Thailand’s athletics contingent as an example.

Thailand were fourth in the athletics medal table with three golds, two s...