Mixed martial arts (MMA) will be among the sports competing for gold medals at the Asian Games. Matches will feature soccer balls exchanged on curved table tennis tables, and players will use rackets to hit balls against glass walls. Additionally, a new virtual reality (VR) taekwondo competition will award gold medals without physical contact between opponents.
The 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4 in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, Japan. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the organizing committee have confirmed a program featuring 43 sports, 71 events, and 469 medal competitions.
MMA is a familiar yet new addition to the Asian Games. For the first time, it will be included as an official medal sport. It will not be a standalone event but will be categorized under 'combat sports' alongside jiu-jitsu and kurash.
There will be a total of six gold medals awarded, divided into four for men and two for women across different weight classes. The competition will feature two formats: 'modern' and 'traditional.' In the traditional format, athletes will wear uniforms, while in the modern format, they will wear shorts and rash guards. Competitors will utilize striking, grappling, throwing, and joint-lock techniques, with victories determined by knockout, technical knockout, submission, or judges' decision. The matches will be held at the Inae Sports Center in Nagoya.
Padel will also make its debut at the Asian Games. This racket sport combines elements of tennis and squash, typically played in doubles on a smaller rectangular court surrounded by glass and mesh walls. Unlike tennis, players use solid rackets with holes instead of strings, and balls that bounce off the walls are part of the game. The scoring system is the same as tennis, with two gold medals available for men's and women's doubles.
Teqball will also be featured for the first time at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. This sport combines soccer and table tennis, played on a specially designed table that is curved in the middle and slopes down at both ends. Players can use any part of their body except their hands and arms to hit the soccer ball, and they may touch the ball up to three times before sending it over to the opponent's side. Players are not allowed to make physical contact with each other or touch the table during play. The competition will include five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
In taekwondo, a new format will be introduced. 'Virtual taekwondo' will be a formal event for the first time at the summer Asian Games, where athletes will compete without direct contact.
In virtual taekwondo, competitors wear VR headsets and motion-tracking devices that project their movements into a virtual space. Each athlete will wear five motion sensors on their upper body, knees, and calves. As they perform taekwondo techniques like kicks, their virtual avatars will replicate these actions without any physical contact.
This event will feature a mixed individual competition without gender divisions, with 16 athletes aged 17 to 35 competing in a tournament format. Each match will be a best-of-three series, with each round lasting 60 seconds. The winner will be the athlete who depletes their opponent's 'power gauge' first or has more remaining at the end of the match.
Padel and teqball will each be organized as independent medal events, while MMA will be categorized under combat sports. Virtual taekwondo will be a new subdivision within traditional taekwondo, alongside sparring and poomsae.
The inclusion of these new sports has transformed the landscape of this year's Asian Games. Athletes will compete for medals in traditional events like athletics and swimming, as well as in e-sports, breaking, MMA, padel, teqball, and virtual taekwondo.
As the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games approach in one month, fans can look forward to not only the familiar medal competitions but also the excitement of discovering new events.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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