An ((exceptional)) gold for Taiwan's Lin... and Arab brilliance in jiu-jitsu

This helped raise the tally for table-topping China by a vast margin to 162 gold medals, compared to 71 for host Japan in second place.

The Games, which have been marred by organizational chaos in Aichi and Nagoya, conclude on Sunday.

Lin defeated China's Yang Cheng-yu 5-0 in the women's 60kg final, claiming her second Asian Games gold after winning in the 57kg category three years ago.

Lin told AFP before the tournament that she considered retiring after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but wanted to continue boxing, partly to defy those who questioned her eligibility to compete.

She said after her victory in Nagoya, "I was waiting for that moment when the light breaks through the darkness. It hasn't been easy at all."

Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif found themselves at the center of a major controversy regarding their gender eligibility during the 2024 Olympics, involving Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and author J.K. Rowling, among others.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) had disqualified both boxers from the 2023 World Championships after stating they failed unspecified tests concerning gender eligibility.

However, the International Olympic Committee allowed them to compete in Paris, considering them victims of a "sudden and arbitrary decision" by the widely discredited IBA. Both subsequently won gold.

In tennis, Wang easily defeated compatriot Zhang 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes.

Tennis is one of seven sports at the Games where winners earn qualification berths for the Olympic Games.

In the final events of the day, Japan's women's football team beat North Korea 5-3 on penalties after the final match ended 2-2 following 120 minutes.

The hosts were just four minutes away from defeat, but Hanon Nishio rescued them with a dramatic equalizer in the 86th minute, forcing extra time.

Gold for the UAE and Saudi Arabia

Arabs continued their brilliance in combat sports, particularly in jiu-jitsu, after the UAE won two gold medals and Saudi Arabia won one.

Saudi Arabia's Omar Tareq was crowned with gold in the under-94kg category, and the UAE's Mahdi Al-Awlaqi in the under-77kg category, as well as his compatriot Asma Al-Hosani in the under-52kg category.

Tareq defeated South Korea's Park Sung-ho in the final, telling Qatar's beIN Sports channel after his crowning: "My self-confidence grows the more I keep training, and I knew no one here trained harder than me. In the last Games, I was 18 and won the bronze medal, so I have kept training ever since and waited three years to get here."

This is Saudi Arabia's second gold in the current edition of the Games, following its first-place finish in the show jumping equestrian event.

Al-Awlaqi won the under-77kg category after defeating Jordan's Mahmoud Jaber in an all-Arab final, leaving Jaber with the silver medal.

For her part, Al-Hosani secured the yellow metal after defeating South Korea's Im Eun-ju.

Weeping with emotion after her coronation, she said: "For four years we have set this goal in our sights, and we have succeeded in winning this medal for the second consecutive time."

The UAE captured its seventh gold at "Asian Games 2026", including five golds in jiu-jitsu events.

Jordanian silver and bronze for Bahrain and Lebanon

Jordan's Ziad Ashish had to settle for silver in the boxing competition after losing on Friday to Kazakhstan's Torekhan Sabyrkhan 0-5 in the 70kg category.

Saleh Al-Sharabaty and Jaafar Al-Dawood boosted Jordan's medal tally at the Games by claiming two bronze medals in the taekwondo 80kg and 58kg categories respectively.

Bahrain's Shamil Sharipov won the freestyle wrestling bronze for the under-125kg category after defeating Mongolia's Batbayar 9-0.

Lebanon's Aquilina Al-Shaib also won bronze in the under-78kg taekwondo category.

Qatar advanced to the padel final after brothers Mishari and Rashid Nawaf defeated Iranians Hami Golestan and Arya Roghani in two sets, 6-4 and 6-2.

Controversy over a bite

Japanese judo officials said they had never seen anything like it after Ren Maeda, who went on to win the title, appeared to be bitten by her Chinese opponent.

Maeda was awarded the victory in the quarter-final match after Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the bout.

Maeda was awarded victory in the quarter-final bout after Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the match.

Tang appeared to bite Maeda just above the wrist as they grappled on the ground, and Maeda showed the referee clear bite marks after getting up from the mat.

Hong Kong's men's rugby sevens team sent a strong warning to their rivals by reaching the semi-finals after crushing Malaysia 50-0, scoring eight tries.