The Singapore female athletes breaking records at the Asian Games 2026

We’re less than a week into the Asian Games 2026, and it has already been a landmark Games for Singapore’s female athletes. Held every four years, the continental multi-sport competition is the second-largest sporting event in the world after the Olympics, bringing together athletes from across Asia.

This year, the 20th edition of the Asian Games, held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, runs from September 19 to October 4.

Team Singapore sent 304 athletes, including debutants and emerging talents, to compete across sports ranging from gymnastics and table tennis to archery and mixed martial arts (MMA).

From MMA fighter Tiffany Teo, 36, winning Singapore’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal, to swimmer Gan Ching Hwee, 23, taking home two silver medals and becoming the first Singaporean female swimmer to win an Asiad medal since 2018, here are the female athletes making history at this year’s Games — and showing what women in sport are capable of.

MMA fighter Tiffany Teo, 36

Tiffany Teo’s name is now synonymous with a historic moment for Singapore.

The 36-year-old debutant clinched Singapore’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal after defeating Uzbekistan’s Khilola Sobirova in the women’s traditional 60kg final on September 22.

Her gold-medal run began with a unanimous-decision win over Iran’s Arezou Salimighalehtaki in the quarter-finals on September 20, earning Singapore its first-ever Asian Games medal in MMA.

The following day, Tiffany faced India’s Suchika Tariyal in the traditional 60kg semi-final. Although Tiffany was initially declared the winner, Suchika and her team challenged the decision, which was overturned and resulted in a draw.

Under the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA)’s rules, the bout then went to a weight tiebreaker. At 58.8kg, Tiffany was lighter than her opponent, who weighed 59.85kg, giving her the win and a place in the final — where she went on to claim gold.

Wushu exponent Zeanne Law, 20

Zeanne Law made headlines after winning Singapore’s first medal of the 2026 Asian Games in the women’s taijiquan and taijijian event.

On September 20, the wushu exponent took home a joint bronze medal alongside her friend and opponent, Brunei’s Basma Lachkar, after both athletes scored 19.443 points.

“It doesn’t matter what colour it is. I’m just glad I managed to win one and the fact that it’s joint made it even more memorable because it made two girls happy at least,” Zeanne told The Straits Times. 

Swimmer Gan Ching Hwee, 23

Gan Ching Hwee took home two silver medals at the Asian Games, finishing second in both the women’s 400m and 1,500m freestyle.

On September 20, she became the first Singaporean to win an Asian Games silver medal in the women’s 1,500m freestyle, clocking a national-record time of 16:00.45. This bettered her previous national record of 16:01.29, set at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

Her performance also saw her break the national record for the first 800m of the race, with a time of 8:29.56 improved on her previous best of 8:29.93, also set at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

Two days later, Ching Hwee claimed her second medal after finishing second in the 400m freestyle, again breaking the national record with a time of 4:06.81. She bettered her previous mark of 4:09.34, set at the Commonwealth Games in July this year.

Ching Hwee’s wins also make her the first Singaporean female swimmer to win an Asian Games medal since Roanne Ho took silver in the 50m breaststroke in 2018.

Fencer Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman, 26

Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman, 26, made history on September 22 by clinching Singapore’s first-ever fencing silver medal at the Asian Games in the women’s individual epee event.

Earlier that day, Kiria narrowly beat Kazakhstan’s Irina Bakaldina 15-14 to reach the semi-finals, where she defeated China’s Yang Jingwen by the same score.

She then faced South Korea’s reigning world champion Song Se-ra in the final, where she lost 15-8 to take silver. Despite the defeat, Kiria delivered Singapore’s best-ever Asian Games result in fencing.

Kiria also served as one of Singapore’s flag-bearers at the Games.

“These Asian Games, I really felt like I wanted to show something for the country and also for my team and I’m glad I managed to this time,” Kiria told The Straits Times. “Hopefully it will motivate the rest of the fencers in the coming days and it’ll also be a good boost for our team in the team event.”