By Naranbat Serjmaa
OCA Youth Reporter from Mongolia
Tokyo, Japan, September 23, 2026: It was an afternoon of masterclass composure and enduring excellence at Equestrian Park, as China’s Alex Hua Tian produced a flawless wire-to-wire performance to defend his individual eventing gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games.
At the summit once again stood Hua Tian, who added a second consecutive Asian Games individual gold to his resume following his triumph at Hangzhou 2022. In eventing, ultimate success relies on unbroken consistency over time: an athlete's final score is calculated as a cumulative tally of penalty points incurred across three distinct phases—Dressage, Jumping and Cross Country—where the lowest overall total wins.
Riding his elite horse Manjushri, the Chinese star executed a flawless tournament, carrying his opening Dressage penalty score of 26.90 through the jumping and cross-country tests without adding a single penalty point across two days of competition.
The competition opened on Tuesday with Dressage, where performances were converted into initial penalty baselines. Hua Tian set the standard early with a score of 26.90. Thailand’s Korntawat Samran on Billy Elmy sat second with 29.70, while Japan’s Taiki Tanaka held third on 29.90, closely followed by Thailand’s Wanchai Sittiju on 30.10.
The intensity built in the Jumping arena later that afternoon, where knocking down a barrier or exceeding the allowed time added penalties directly to each rider's running score. Hua Tian jumped clear to keep his leading 26.90 tally intact, while Sittiju aboard Uster de Chanay produced a clean round of his own to move into second place on 30.10. Japan’s Ryuzo Murata on Brookpark Vikenti also delivered a faultless performance to sit third on 30.40.
Everything came down to Wednesday’s decisive Cross Country runs over demanding terrain, where timing faults and course obstacles served as the final hurdles. Hua Tian crossed the finish line in 6 minutes and 49 seconds with zero penalties to secure his individual gold on 26.90. Sittiju delivered a brilliant 6:51 clear run to claim the silver medal on 30.10. Meanwhile, Japan’s veteran Yoshiaki Oiwa aboard Ottawa des Desig logged a 7:01 run, adding a slight 0.40 time penalty to his tally to finish on 31.70 and capture the bronze medal in front of home fans.
For 36-year-old Hua Tian, the victory was as much an emotional relief as a sporting achievement after carrying heavy expectations into the competition.
“I’m just very relieved, mainly. Obviously, there’s some pressure coming into a championship defending a gold medal, but also bringing such a good horse like Manjushri,” said Hua Tian. “My main feeling was I just didn’t want to let him down, or let Manjushri’s owners down. They’re such amazing supporters. The most important thing is, I didn’t let them down. So I’m very, very happy about that and relieved.”
Navigating the tricky, technical cross-country track required immense focus, as Hua Tian had to adapt to the damp conditions while managing Manjushri’s powerful stride.
“I was a little bit concerned about how slippery it was,” Hua Tian noted. “He has a very big stride, which around a twisty technical track like this doesn’t always make it easy, especially when it’s slippery. After my first two, three-minute markers, I could relax a little bit, feel the rhythm, feel the course, and trust him. Representing your country in the sport you love is a dream, and I’m very grateful for it. Each and every horse that I’ve had a partnership with over the years has left something with me.”
Reflecting on the sport’s unpredictable nature after an unfortunate cross-country fall eliminated China from the team event, Hua Tian offered encouraging words for his younger teammates. “This sport is about the long term, it’s about resilience, it’s about learning lessons and looking to the future,” he said. “I have no doubt that they have the character and personality to keep going and doing very well in the future.”
For silver medalist Woraphat Sittiju, the result capped an extraordinary campaign of unbroken composure. Riding Uster de Chanay, Sittiju never faltered across all three disciplines, producing faultless jumping and cross-country rounds to finish on his opening score of 30.10. His performance reflected the deep discipline forged through Thailand’s intensive European training program at Maxence Stable in France, proving that the Thai squad can match the world’s elite rider for rider on the individual stage.
Rounding out the podium for the host nation, Japan’s Yoshiaki Oiwa showcased veteran craftsmanship to secure the bronze medal aboard Ottawa des Desig despite having only paired with the horse six months prior to the Games.
“Until quite late in the process, I did not have a horse for the Asian Games,” Oiwa explained following Tuesday’s dressage phase. “Through a connection with the breeder, I heard that they were looking to part with this horse. I had been searching for one, and it felt as though the horse had come to me. I think it was destiny.”
Managing a big-strided horse over a compact course required tactical precision, drawing on Oiwa’s two decades of high-level European experience in Germany and Great Britain.
“The course has many turns and the track is quite narrow,” Oiwa had noted ahead of the cross-country test. “My horse has a big stride and can cover the ground well, but tight turns may not be his greatest strength. I had to manage him carefully and choose the right places to let him gallop. Our partnership is still at an early stage, but we gave everything out there.”