Asian Games athletes with surprising second lives

More than 10,000 athletes will compete at the Asian Games, Asia’s biggest sporting event. At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which open Sept. 19, 10,798 athletes representing 45 national Olympic committees (NOCs) will vie for medals. Among them are athletes who compete while pursuing careers in other fields.

Sun Yi-tong, 26, a setter for Hong Kong’s women’s volleyball team, is also a fashion model. In an interview with Vogue Hong Kong in July last year, Sun said she realized in middle school that her height could be an advantage and reached out to a modeling agency herself. She went on to walk the runway at Chanel’s Cruise Collection show in Hong Kong in 2024. Sun is also studying physical therapy at university. “I want to finish my studies, continue pursuing my dream of playing volleyball and also pursue modeling on the international stage,” she said.

Kartik Jairaj Karkera, 29, who will represent India in the men’s marathon, is an orthopedic surgeon. Born into a middle-class family in Mumbai, Karkera took up running as a hobby while studying in Russia in 2016. With more free time during the COVID-19 pandemic, running grew from a hobby into a serious pursuit alongside his medical career. Karkera won the 1,500 meters at the Russian University Championships in 2021 and 2022, and finished sixth at the Moscow Half Marathon in 2023. After returning to India in 2024, he qualified for the Asian Games in April by finishing a marathon in Delhi in a personal-best 2 hours, 13 minutes, 10 seconds.

Hu Zitong, 34, represented Hong Kong in baseball at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2014 Incheon Asian Games before turning to acting and singing. He will return to the Asian Games stage after a 12-year absence. Singapore’s modern pentathlon representative Tahir Ansari, 34, is also an actor. Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, 39, the second daughter of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 74, will compete for Thailand in equestrian events. She competed in badminton at the 2006 Doha Asian Games before becoming a fashion designer. She also personally designed the uniforms for Thailand’s delegation at this year’s Games.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com