How Taiwan lost Nagoya gold but gained Olympic credibility
TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's five gold medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games represent its lowest tally in 36 years, a 74 percent drop from the 19 golds won at Hangzhou in 2023. Yet the raw numbers obscure a more complex story: breakthroughs in high-prestige Olympic events suggest Taiwan's sports strategy may be maturing even as its medal count contracts.
The headline figure demands context. Roller skating, go and contract bridge — sports where Taiwan dominated at Hangzhou with nine combined golds — were excluded from the Nagoya program entirely.
Strip away the excluded events, and Taiwan's core performance looks different.
The island claimed golds in track and field and swimming, the most competitive disciplines at any multi-sport games. High jumper Fu Chao-hsuan (傅兆玄) ended a 60-year gold drought in men's track events. Swimmer Wang Kuan-hung (王冠閎) delivered Taiwan's first swimming gold in 28 years with his 200-meter butterfly victory. The men's gymnastics team claimed bronze, meaning Taiwan medaled in track, swimming and gymnastics — the "three traditional events."
The pattern suggests a shift, whether intentional or circumstantial, from niche Asian Games sports toward events that matter at the Olympics. Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee President Tsai Chia-fu (蔡家福) made this explicit at a Tuesday (Oct. 6) reception at Taiwan's Presidential Office. "The Asian Games ending is the beginning of our preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics," Tsai said.
Minister of Sports Lee Yang (李洋) spoke with authentic understanding. "As a former athlete, I deeply understand; standing on that stage, we want to win more than anyone," Lee said. The two-time Olympic badminton gold medalist acknowledged room for improvement, pledging that his ministry would "continue planning so athletes can be better cared for."
Roller skating is not an Olympic sport. Swimming, track, gymnastics and boxing, where Paris 2024 champion Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) claimed her third consecutive Asian Games medal, are. Taiwan's five golds came exclusively in Olympic disciplines.
Whether these breakthroughs reflect systemic improvement or individual brilliance remains unclear; no independent analysis has assessed whether Olympic-priority investment has increased. The question matters because the government's framing sidesteps an uncomfortable reality: Taiwan's overall medal ranking plummeted from sixth at Hangzhou to 15th at Nagoya.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), speaking at the same reception, emphasized effort over outcomes. "Whether you won a medal or not, your every drop of sweat has earned the government's gratitude and recognition," Lai told representatives of the 744-member delegation, Taiwan's largest ever for an Asian Games.
Lai had declined to set medal targets before the Games. At a September ceremony in southern Taiwan, he told athletes: "This stage belongs to you." He added: "When you stand on this stage, believe in yourself, give it everything; that is what matters most."
On Tuesday, Lai's voice turned tender when praising boxer Chen Nien-chin's (陳念琴) sportsmanship after her silver-medal loss. "Even though the judges didn't give you the win, you rushed over to embrace the Indian athlete," Lai said. "That was moving. Truly moving."
Chen herself, speaking with a voice that occasionally wavered with emotion, redirected attention to those who supported her. "Everyone sees one person's result," Chen said. "What I want people to see is the group of people who made that result possible."
The true test of whether Nagoya represents a strategic inflection point or a statistical anomaly will come at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. If Fu, Wang and Lin can replicate their success on the Olympic stage, the "quality over quantity" narrative will gain credibility. If they cannot, Taiwan's 36-year gold low will stand as the defining metric of this era. ◼