A competitor wearing a white taekwondo uniform stands barefoot on a mat. A virtual reality (VR) headset covers the athlete’s face, while five sensors are attached to the back, thighs and shins. The opponent stands in the same space, but several meters away. When the match begins, the two competitors exchange kicks without actually touching each other. Instead of watching the athletes on the mat, spectators watch their VR avatars on a screen. This is virtual taekwondo, which will make its official Asian Games debut at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, which open on Sept. 19. The sport was first introduced at the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Esports Series in 2023 and has made its way into the Asian Games just three years later. Each competitor battles on a 4-meter-by-4-meter mat for 60 seconds, with matches decided by a best-of-three format. Much like Tekken, another esports title at the Asian Games, a competitor can win by landing successful attacks and reducing the opponent’s health gauge to zero. If neither player scores a knockout within 60 seconds, the competit
