dexinwin China made a powerful start to the first full competition day of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, winning11 gold medals on September 20as athletes dominated several major events across the Games.
The gold rush came just one day after the opening ceremony in Nagoya. China sent 815 athletes to the Asian Games and is competing in 38 sports and 369 events. The delegation includes 548 athletes making their Asian Games debut.
Swimming leads China's gold rush
Swimming was the biggest contributor to China's medal haul.
Chinese swimmers wonsix gold medals, one silver and two bronze medalson the opening day of swimming competition.
TeenagerYu Zidi, only 13 years old, claimed the women's 200m butterfly title in 2:05.08, breaking the Asian Games record previously held by Chinese star Zhang Yufei.
Olympic championPan Zhanlesuccessfully defended his men's 100m freestyle title in 47.61 seconds. Li Bingjie won the women's 1,500m freestyle, while Tang Qianting took gold in the women's 50m breaststroke.
Veteran Xu Jiayu also produced a record-breaking performance, winning the men's 100m backstroke in 51.98 seconds. The victory gave him a third consecutive Asian Games title in the event.
China's women's 4x100m freestyle relay team then closed the first day of swimming with another gold medal and an Asian Games record.
China's first gold comes in modern pentathlon
China's first gold medal of the Asian Games came from the women's modern pentathlon team event.
Zhang Mingyu, Wu Xiyao, Fu Jing and Meng Xin combined their results to win the team title, successfully defending China's championship from the previous Asian Games.
The competition used the sport's new format, featuring fencing, obstacle racing, swimming and the laser run. South Korea's Seong Seung-min won the individual women's title, while China's Zhang Mingyu and Wu Xiyao took silver and bronze respectively.
The Chinese team nevertheless secured the team gold through the combined performances of its top three athletes.
More gold medals across the program
China's gold-medal haul was not limited to swimming and modern pentathlon.
The Chinese delegation also collected titles in sports includingtriathlon, shooting and martial arts, helping push the day's total to 11 gold medals.
In women's individual triathlon, China's Lin Xinyu won the gold medal, with teammate Huang Anqi taking silver. China also secured gold in the women's 10m air rifle team event.
The strong performance across different sports highlighted the depth of China's delegation rather than reliance on a single discipline.
A fast start, but not the Games' first gold
China's 11-gold performance quickly attracted attention because of the speed at which the medals arrived.
However, China's first gold of the Games should not be confused with thefirst gold medal of the entire Asian Games.
Host Japan claimed the first gold of Aichi-Nagoya 2026 when Takumi Hojo won the men's individual triathlon. China's Zhang Xirui took silver in that event.
China's first gold came later in the women's modern pentathlon team event.
Strong opening for a young Chinese delegation
The performance is particularly notable given the relatively young composition of China's Asian Games team.
China's 815-athlete delegation has an average age of 24, with athletes born in the 2000s accounting for 27 percent of the team. More than two-thirds of the athletes are competing at the Asian Games for the first time.
Yu Zidi's record-breaking swimming victory was one of the clearest examples of the younger generation making an immediate impact. At the same time, experienced athletes such as Pan Zhanle and Xu Jiayu continued to deliver gold medals in established events.
China starts at the top of the medal table
With 11 gold medals on the first full competition day, China quickly moved to the top of the Asian Games medal standings.
The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games feature43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 medal events, with competitions taking place across venues in Aichi and other parts of Japan. Around 11,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries and regions are taking part.
China has topped the Asian Games gold-medal table at every edition since 1982 and won 201 gold medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
The first full day in Nagoya has now produced a strong opening statement from the Chinese delegation, with established champions, rising stars and team events all contributing to the medal haul.
Eleven gold medals in one day mark a fast start. With competition continuing through October 4, China's challenge now shifts from a strong opening to maintaining that momentum across the rest of the Games.
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