Jeus Yape claims PH’s 4th gold in Asian Games with virtual taekwondo triumph - Rappler

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REPRESENT. Taekwondo athlete Jeus Yape of the Philippines in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

MANILA, Philippines – Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape delivered the Philippines’ fourth gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, after ruling the mixed individual virtual taekwondo on Friday, October 2.

Yape scored a 2-0 win over Vietnam’s Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang in the final at the Toyohashi Gymnasium as the country won its first-ever taekwondo gold in the continental showpiece. 

In virtual taekwondo, which debuted in the Asian Games, competitors wear virtual reality headsets and motion-tracking sensors to control their digital avatars. 

Similar to fighting games, athletes have health bars that their opponents must deplete through successful attacks. Virtual taekwondo also incorporates video game elements like a stun meter, which, when filled, leaves an opponent temporarily defenseless.

Yape also beat Saudi Arabia’s Dunya Bushuaib Saber in the round of 16, Japan’s Hayate Suzuki in the quarterfinals, and Kazakhstan’s Rita Bakisheva in the semifinals on the way to becoming the third Filipino athlete to strike gold in this Asian Games after gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena.

It is the second Asian Games medal for the 22-year-old Yape, who also won bronze in the men’s individual poomsae the day prior.

With four golds, the Philippines has matched its tally in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, and 2023 Hangzhou, China, editions. – Rappler.com