Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese fighter Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang won silver in virtual taekwondo at the 2026 Asian Games, losing the final to Jeus Gabriel Derick of the Philippines.
The discipline made its Games debut with an unusual format in which male and female athletes compete against each other.
Sang reached the final with momentum and high expectations after a strong run from the quarterfinals, but could not close out gold against her Philippine opponent. She lost 0-2, with round scores of 0-500 and 0-620.
Earlier, Sang beat Tongchan Sasikarn of Thailand in the quarterfinals and Zong Han Darren of Singapore in the semifinals to reach the gold-medal bout. She was dominant against the Singaporean, scoring 640 and 800 points across the two rounds.
Derick, a male athlete, advanced by beating Bakisgheva Rita of Kazakhstan in the semifinals.
The sport pairs martial arts technique with virtual reality and a real-time motion simulation system. Athletes wear VR headsets and body-mounted motion sensors, and the system digitises footwork, dodging and strikes and reproduces them through an avatar in a virtual environment.
Unlike conventional taekwondo sparring, there is no direct physical contact. Results are decided by Health Points (HP), with the force, speed and accuracy of each strike converted by the system into damage to the opponent./.
