Malaysia’s First Esports Gold At The Asian Games Came From A Sim Racing Driver
Sim racing driver Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira gave Malaysia its first-ever esports gold at the Asian Games today, topping the Gran Turismo 7 event at Aichi — a breakthrough that Hangzhou 2022’s silver and bronze had pointed toward but never delivered. The win adds to karate’s Adeola Fay Robert’s gold and four bronze medals in Malaysia’s thus-far tally at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Malaysian athletes did the country proud after bringing home two first gold medals and four bronze medals thus far from the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
Adeola Fay Robert won gold in the Women’s Karate Kumite Under-55kg, beating Iran’s Fatemeh Zahra Saeidabadi 6-4.
The Malaysian Karate Federation had earlier pledged a Proton e.MAS electric vehicle to any national athlete who won a gold medal at the Games.
Malaysian racing sim driver Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira also won the country’s first esports gold today, topping the Gran Turismo 7 event at the Aichi Sky Expo with 36 points. He finished second in the first two races for 16 points before clinching victory in the final race for another 20.
Four Bronze Medals Down, More Events on the Card Tomorrow
Malaysia’s earlier Asian Games esports medals came from Hangzhou 2022, where the country claimed a silver in Arena of Valor and a bronze in Dota 2.
Tan Cheong Min won bronze in the Women’s Wushu (Nanquan and Nandao) event, scoring 19.389 points in the combined event.
Malaysia also brought home three more bronze medals. K. Thevendran claimed third place in the Men’s Kumite Under-55kg category, H. Sureeya Sankar took bronze in the Men’s Kumite Under-60kg, while the Malaysian men’s team kata — comprising Mukhriz Mazlan, Mohamad Haznil Henry and Muhammad Aiqal Asmadie — also secured a bronze medal.
Tomorrow (24 Sept) marks the sixth day of competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where 45 nations and regions—represented by 46 delegations, including the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Refugee Team—and more than 11,000 athletes compete across 43 sports through the closing ceremony on 4 October.
