UAEOC
The UAE delivered its strongest-ever performance at the Asian Games, finishing 13th among 45 competing nations at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a record seven gold medals and 13 medals overall, a haul that UAE Olympic Committee President Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid says signals the country’s emergence as a genuine force in Asian sport.
“Reflects the determination of UAE athletes to raise the nation’s flag,” Sheikh Mansoor said of the result, which saw a 165-strong UAE contingent compete across multiple disciplines, ultimately returning home with 7 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze medal, the country’s best medal tally in Asian Games history.
Track and field produced one of the standout moments of the Games: Mariam Kareem won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 54.31 seconds, a result that set both an Asian Games record and an Asian Under-20 record in the same race.
Equestrian sport also delivered for the UAE. Sheikha Latifah bint Ahmed bin Juma Al Maktoum earned silver, taking her career Asian Games medal tally to four and equaling the all-time record among female equestrians at the Games. Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi added a further silver in individual show jumping.
Combat sports rounded out the UAE’s strongest showing. The jiu-jitsu team brought home five medals, including gold, through Balqees Abdulla, Khaled Al Shehhi, Ahmed Andeez, Mahdi Al Awlaqi and Asma Al Hosani, while Kazbek Naguchev claimed gold in judo’s men’s under-73kg category.
Taken together, the results across track and field, equestrian and combat sports point to a broadening base of UAE sporting success rather than strength concentrated in a single discipline, exactly the kind of depth Sheikh Mansoor’s comments suggest the Olympic Committee sees as evidence of the country’s rising status on the continental stage.
