AICHI, Sept 30 — The ‘Identity V’ esports national squad had to settle for the bronze medal after losing 2-0 to Japan in the semi-finals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games here today.

In the best-of-three format match at the Aichi Sky Expo, the national squad found themselves trailing 3-5 to Japan’s top lineup in the first round.

The Malaysian team, comprising captain Gan Hoon Ming, Yiau Wen Feng, Vincent Yii, Nicky Ho, Ng Wei Hao, George Chin and Cheah Euggee, however, bounced back to hold Japan to a 4-4 draw in the second round.

But Japan, led by Ryo Kamira, Yuto Awata, Masumi Konuma, Masahiro Uemura, Ryuhi Oyama, Kentaro Maeda and Masaki Uenaka, had the last say as they launched rapid attacks in the decider to trounce Malaysia 8-1, and seal a 2-0 triumph.

Hoon Ming, though disappointed at not making the final, described their match against Japan as a valuable experience for the whole team, who are making their Asiad debut.

“We actually had chances to beat them, but we did not perform very well. Japan are a very strong outfit and they fielded their best players.

“I am truly honoured to have played against them. We enjoyed it because when both teams are at the same level, the game ecomes very intense and too close to call,” he told Bernama after the defeat.

Hoon Ming said Malaysia have now faced Japan three times, recording one win and two losses.

He said the exprience of competing against the highly-skilled Japanese players provided them with valuable insights to improve themselves.

“I hope we can take this experience and improve our game. We will try to do better next time,” he added.

Hoon Ming said they were happy to have contributed a bronze medal for Malaysia, although they had hoped to bring home the gold or silver medal.

“We are very happy to win a medal for Malaysia but, at the same time, we are disappointed because we felt like we could have done better.

“However, this is not the end for us. We will strive to continue to improve,” he added.

Hoon Ming said that the team would now shift their focus to winning gold at the 2027 SEA Games, which Malaysia will host. — Bernama