EJ Obiena remains pole vault king, sepak takraw women bag silver in PH's Asian Games medal rush

The Philippines bagged four medals on Tuesday, its biggest single-day medal haul in the 2026 Asian Games.

Athletics bannered the medal haul, with EJ Obiena delivering the Philippines’ third gold medal as he ruled the men’s pole vault, further cementing his status as the king of Asian pole vault.

Obiena cleared 5.91 meters to win the gold and set a new Asian Games record, with China’s Yao Jie and Li Chenyang also making the podium.

Just minutes before Obiena’s victory, Victoria Bossong copped the bronze medal after clocking 2:05.34 in the women’s 800m, 0.85 seconds behind gold medalist Wu Hongjiao of China (2:04.49) and Bahrain’s Nelly Korir (2:05.16).

Earlier in the morning, the women’s sepak takraw team composed of Nelly Jay Salon, Jean Marie Sucalit, and Abegail Sinogbuhan fell to Vietnam in the women’s doubles final to settle for silver—the country’s third silver medal in the Asiad.

Hours later, surfing’s Jayuard Alciso also won the bronze medal in an all-Filipino duel in the men’s shortboard, defeating compatriot Toby Espejon in the bronze medal match.

The Philippines now has three gold medals, three silvers, and 12 bronzes for a total of 18 medals in the Asiad.

READ MORE | Updated Philippines medal tally and list of medalists, as of September 29

In other sports, the duo of Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera won their women’s doubles opener, 6-1, 6-3, against Hong Kong’s Lai Ching Laam and Liu Kallista.

SIBOL’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team, meanwhile, swept its Tuesday matches against Jordan and Kazakhstan, while Alas Pilipinas Men fell to Chinese Taipei, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 29-27, to wrap up its group-stage campaign.

On Wednesday, Eala will return to action in the women’s singles quarterfinals against Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland, while Olympic boxing medalist Carlo Paalam will compete in the men’s 55kg semifinal against Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan.

—JKC, GMA News