Malaysia has matched its best-ever Asian Games performance after the national contingent secured nine gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games, which officially concluded today.
National Sports Council (MSN) director-general Jefri Ngadirin said the haul equalled Malaysia’s record of nine gold medals achieved at the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games.
He said the achievement reflected the consistent performances of Malaysian athletes across several sporting disciplines and demonstrated the country’s ability to compete at the highest level in Asia.
Malaysia’s gold medal campaign began with Adeola Fay Robert, who won the women’s under-55kg kumite event, before Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira made history as the country’s first esports representative to win Asian Games gold through Gran Turismo 7.
C Shahmalarani then added another gold in the women’s under-50kg kumite, while the men’s sepak takraw team ended Malaysia’s 36-year wait for a gold medal in the team regu event.
The Golden Tigers were represented by Mohammad Syahir Mohd Rosdi, Muhammad Haziq Hairul Nizam, Muhammad Zulkifli Abd Razak, Muhammad Zarif Marican, Muhammad Hafizul Hayazi Adnan, Farhan Adam, Mohamad Azlan Alias, Aidil Aiman Azwawi, Amirul Zazwan Amir, Zuleffendi Sumari, Muhammad Afifuddin Mohd Razali and Muhammad Shahalril Aiman Halil.
Squash then delivered Malaysia’s fifth and sixth gold medals through Ng Eain Yow and Sivasangari Subramaniam, who successfully defended their respective men’s and women’s singles titles.
Aifa Azman, Sivasangari, Aira Azman and Rachel Mae Arnold secured the seventh gold after the women’s team successfully defended their title by defeating Hong Kong in the final.
The eighth gold went to Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang in the men’s keirin, ending Malaysia’s 16-year wait for an Asian Games gold in the event.
Malaysia’s men’s squash team then completed the gold-medal tally through Ameeshenraj Chandaran, Ng Eain Yow, Sanjay Jeeva and Mohamad Syafiq Kamal, who defeated Pakistan in the final.
Beyond the nine gold medals, Malaysia also collected seven silver and 16 bronze medals during the Games.
Jefri congratulated the entire Malaysian contingent, particularly the athletes, for their commitment, discipline and fighting spirit throughout their preparations and competitions.
He also thanked Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari and the Youth and Sports Ministry leadership for their support and confidence in MSN’s training and preparation programmes.
Jefri stressed that the success belonged not only to the athletes, but also to their coaches, sports officials, administrators, sports science and medical personnel, contingent management teams and families.
“Every medal won also belongs to the coaches, support teams, families and everyone who contributed to their journey. Athletes are the main characters, but they never fought alone,” he said.
Jefri said the performance in Aichi-Nagoya provided a positive indication of Malaysia’s high-performance sports development, but MSN would not regard the achievement as an endpoint.
Instead, he said the council would use the results as a catalyst to strengthen athlete development programmes, improve preparation quality and build a pool of athletes capable of competing consistently on the international stage.
The next priority, he said, would be to maintain the momentum ahead of the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia, with the aim of emerging overall champions before stepping up preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“At the same time, we are determined to secure Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal,” he said.
