Agatha Wong opens up about balancing medical school and Asian Games training - GMA Network

This was Agatha Wong’s message after competing in the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, as the national wushu athlete reflected on the challenge of pursuing both elite sports and her medical studies.

“I think one of my bad-slash-good traits is being stubborn. And so when people told me that I could only choose sports or choose my school, choose my education, I did not listen, and, you know, I’m still doing both,” Wong said.

“And so I think, don’t let other people put a limit to what you can do.”

Wearing her competition suit, Wong scored 9.156 in the women’s taijijian final and 9.703 in the women’s taijiquan event in wushu.

While she fell short of a podium finish, Wong said she accepted the result knowing she had given her best.

“It’s okay because I did my best in the first event. I think I did okay here in the second event. But that's what it is, it's a competition. I accept it,” she said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“So now it’s back to training again, and then I have to keep working hard.”

Wong said she still intends to compete in future tournaments, although her immediate priority after the Asian Games will be returning to school.

The national athlete is currently a medical student at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine.

“I want to. I want to. But after the Asian Games, I’m gonna go back and study because I’ve been out of school for a few months and they’re already hunting me down,” she said.

Despite the demands of medical school, Wong stressed that she is not yet ready to walk away from wushu.

“For sure. I still love what I do. I’m injury-free, and so I’ll still keep doing it,” she said.

For Wong, balancing two demanding paths remains difficult, but she isn’t prepared to choose one over the other.

Wong is among more than 450 Filipino athletes competing in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, with Team Philippines’ participation supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

The Asian Games is Asia’s biggest multi-sport competition and is widely regarded as the region’s most prestigious sporting event, bringing together the continent’s top athletes across dozens of sports.