Asian Games 2026: 10 GCC Athletes and Teams to Watch in Nagoya

The 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya 2026 have been a great opportunity for all sportsmen and women of the GCC Countries in their respective equestrian, ju-jitsu, esports, athletics and sports. There have already been some impressive success stories among competitors from Gulf countries ahead of the Games scheduled for a close on Sunday, October 4.

1. Saudi Arabia’s Show-Jumping Gold Medal Team

The Saudi Arabian duo of Ramzy Al-Duhami, the team’s first, even grabbed their country’s first gold medal of the Nagoya Games in the team show jumping event, followed by countrymen Khaled Almonty, Abdulrahman Alrajhi and Saad Al-Ajmi.

2. UAE’s Show-Jumping Silver Medal Team

The UAE show-jumping team created another big result for the GCC countries when they finished silver behind Saudi Arabia. The UAE ended up ahead of Japan to pick up both gold and silver in the team jumping tournament.  

3. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi

Winfred Yavi is one of the most impressive performers from the GCC, in Nagoya. Bahrain won the 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase to become the first athlete in Asian Games history to complete the triple in one meet in athletics history.  

4. Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew

Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew made a perfect defence for the men’s Asian Championships in the 5,000m which he claimed in 13:30.79. His win came after he won the 10,000m on his previous outing, so he is another key player in Bahrain’s distance running campaign.  

5. Bahrain’s Shitaye Eshete

Bahrain had a successful day of athletics with the addition of Shitaye Eshete’s victory in the Women’s Marathon. The 36-year-old swam in rain drenched conditions to win Gold in the very tough Nagoya competition, one of the most competitive and notable endurance swimmers of the Games.  

6. UAE’s Mariam Kareem

The women benefited from a new Asian Games record set by Mariam Kareem in the women’s 400m hurdles race which she won in 54.31 seconds. Her performance kept the UAE prominently in the Athletics result sheets for the Games and it was her first time breaking Bahrain’s previous record for the Games.  

7. Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida

In the men’s 400m hurdles race, Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida set a new course record of 47.82s with a gold medal. His achievement was also the victory of the first-ever individual athletics title for the GCC at Nagoya.  

8. Qatar’s Abubaker Abdalla

Abubaker Abdalla won the bronze in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:45.25. The Qatari runner also trails Germany’s gold medalist Ko Ochiai and Iran’s Ali Amirian.  

9. Kuwait’s Abdullah Shaaban

Kuwait’s Abdullah Shaaban won gold in the men’s karate kumite under-60kg category. He beat Abdelrahman Abdelhamid of Qatar in an all-Arab final to improve his Asian Games performance which saw him win a silver medal.  

10. Saudi Arabia’s Jiu-Jitsu and Esports Teams

In the more comprehensive Saudi Arabia’s medal tally, there were also three medals in jiu-jitsu, two bronze medals for Khaled Habab and Abdulmalik Al-Mardi as well as a bronze to Mohammed bin Huraimel. The Saudi League of Legends team also took home the bronze in esports, bringing to attention the Saudi presence in combat sports and esports.

FAQs

What year will be the Asian Games 2026?

Aichi, Nagoya Asian Games date from 19-09-26 until 04-10-26.

Which GCC country won the equestrian team jumping gold?

Saudi Arabia’s team ended up with gold and the UAE team picked up silver.

Who won the gold medal in the marathon in Bahrain?

The women won Bahrain’s ‘s prize in the Marathon with Shitaye Eshete.