Alex Hua Tian (CHN) and Manjushri compete during the Eventing jumping phase of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at Equestrian Park in Tokyo. © FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi Photography

22.09.2026

Defending champion Alex Hua Tian maintained his lead in the Eventing Individual competition at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Tuesday as the jumping phase at Tokyo’s Equestrian Park reshaped the leaderboard and strengthened Japan’s position at the top of the Team standings.

The 1.20-metre jumping course, featuring 11 obstacles and 14 efforts, proved influential, with only eight of the 32 combinations completing without adding any penalties – China’s Hua Tian and Manjushri were among them. The combination remain on their dressage score of 26.9 penalties heading into Wednesday’s concluding cross-country phase.

“I’m very happy,” said Hua Tian. “The technical bits are out of the way now, and I’ve got to focus on the cross-country tomorrow and do a good job. I have confidence in the horse, but of course it’s cross-country – anything can happen. I’m just going to have another look now and make my final plans for tomorrow.”

Behind them, Thailand’s Woraphat Sittiju, with Uster de Chanay, moved from fourth to second after a clear round kept them on 30.1, while Japan’s Ryo Murata and Brookpark Vikenti also added nothing to climb two places to third on 30.4.

Yoshiaki Oiwa, with Ottawa des Desig, completed a clear round as well, moving from seventh to fourth on 31.3 and giving the host nation two combinations inside the top four.

The jumping phase proved costly for several of the combinations that had been closest to Hua Tian after dressage. Thailand’s Korntawat Samran and Billy Elmy dropped from second to 13th after adding 9.6 penalties, while Japan’s Toshiyuki Tanaka, with Talma D’Allou, slipped from third to 19th with 12.4 penalties.

Japan nevertheless extended its advantage in the Team competition. The hosts lead on 97.3 penalties, 12.1 ahead of Hong Kong, China on 109.4, with Thailand just 0.5 further back on 109.9. China, the defending Asian Games Team champions, have no discard score after starting the competition with only three combinations.

“The fact that we’re in the lead after the first day is exactly as planned, although the actual results were a little different from what we predicted,” said Japanese Chef d’Equipe Atsushi Negishi. “We had hoped everyone would score over 70% in the dressage, but we started with more penalty points than expected. But after the dressage and jumping, we’re in first place with a 12-point lead. I believe we’ve gained a significant advantage.”

India’s Team challenge ended when Arjan Singh Nagra and Cooley Goodwood were eliminated in jumping. With only three combinations entered, India had no discard score, although their remaining Athletes continue in the Individual competition.

The medals will be decided over Wednesday’s 3,640-metre cross-country course, featuring 24 obstacles and 30 efforts, with an optimum time of seven minutes.

Cross-country was moved to Wednesday after heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan, giving organisers additional time to prepare the course. The final phase will take place on the compact and twisting track at Equestrian Park.

Hua Tian walked the course again on Tuesday afternoon before making his final plans for Manjushri.

“I think the time is going to be influential,” he said. “The ground looks much better than I thought it would after yesterday. The team here did an amazing job to prepare the course and mitigate the effects as much as possible.”  

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