Tokyo, Japan, September 8, 2026: Having shot to stardom with three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, Shinnosuke Oka heads into the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as the linchpin of Japan's men's artistic gymnastics team, Kyodo News reports.
The 22-year-old Oka won gold in the men's team, men’s all-around and horizontal bar at Paris 2024, with Japan clinching the team title in a dramatic turnaround against China.
"I want to prove Japan is the best in the world when it comes to artistic gymnastics," Oka said.
Consistency has been a strength for Oka, who finished behind Daiki Hashimoto at the national championships in April before beating the Tokyo Olympic all-around gold medalist to win a third straight NHK Trophy a month later.
The 1.55-metre Oka has increased his difficulty level on some of the six apparatus, while continuing to score highly for execution, to cement himself as Japan's most reliable source of points in the team event, in which one mistake can be decisive.
Oka has been practicing on the Chinese-made apparatus to be used at the Asian Games and vows to raise his precision further.
The well-known sauna enthusiast referenced a newer hobby, surfing, as he outlined his approach to the Asian Games and beyond.
"I want to ride the wave and make it continue until the world championships," he said, referring to the Artistic Gymnastics worlds in Rotterdam in October.
Artistic gymnastics will run from September 21-25, offering 14 gold medals at Nagoya City General Gymnasium, better known as Rainbow Hall