Physical: Asia: Who's in danger of going home – and which team is leading the competition after episode 9?

Physical: Asia returned to screens with three new episodes (7-9) on November 11, 2025. It showcased the remaining teams competing against opponents for national pride and the title of winner.

However, as the episodes progressed, the quests became more and more difficult. The athletes pushed their limits, hoping to outperform the competition.

By the end of episode 9, three teams faced the risk of being sent home. They were:

• Team Australia
• Team Mongolia
• Team Korea

However, one nation managed to emerge on top by demonstrating intense strength and agility. 

Team Japan, by winning the first round of the Quest 4, advanced straight to Quest 5 and became the competition leaders. 

Teams Philippines and Türkiye were eliminated in Quest 3 after being unable to overpower their opponents. 

How did Team Japan take the lead over the other countries in Physical: Asia?

After Teams Philippines and Türkiye were eliminated, the remaining entered Quest 4. In the first challenge of Quest 4, they had to compete in a battle rope relay. 

It was a two-round challenge, in which three players from each team participated. The first round was 5 minutes long, with players changing after every minute. 

The second round, which would be between the first and second-place teams of the first round, was 4 minutes long.

The team that would win the second round of the battle rope relay would advance straight to Quest 5. 

As per the rules of the challenge, contestants had to whip the ropes “in order to strike the device attached at the end of the rope.”

Teams with the highest count would win the contest. 

Team Australia decided to take a risk and send in their strongest players: Robert, Eloni, and Eddie.

Team Mongolia and Team Korea decided against utilizing all their strongest players in the first round, worried that the team for the second might be imbalanced.

Consequently, Mongolia sent Lkhagva-Ochir Erdene-Ochir, Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, and Dulguun Enkhbat. 

Team Korea was the only team that sent two female athletes, as they wanted to reserve others for future matchups. 

Yung Sung-bin, Choi Seung-yeon, and Jang Eun-sil were selected as the players for the relay. 

“We settled on a plan. Why should we go all out in the first game if we weren’t gonna win? And that's why we sent out Seung-yeon, Eun-sil, and Sung-bin,” Dong-hyun explained.

From Team Japan came Okami, Soichi, and Itoi after they, too, decided to go all out in the challenge. 

As soon as the round began, all teams pushed their limits to score as many hits as they could.

By the end of the first round, Team Australia led the battle with 1,336 points. Team Korea bowed out with 736 points, and so did Team Mongolia with 1143 points. 

That meant Team Australia would face the Japanese, who scored 1194 points. However, only one could advance to Quest 5. 

For the second round, the Japanese athletes changed their strategy and switched their order. Instead of Soichi starting the round, they began with Itoi. They believed he would give them a head start. 

The round was harder the second time, since the players were already exhausted from the first relay. 

While reflecting on the competition, Eloni said:

“We’ve got history between Japan, and we’ve crushed them before, and that’s what we’re gonna do here. We’re gonna crush them again.”

Despite the head start, Japan’s players knew they had to lock in since the Australians won the first round by a huge margin. 

Meanwhile, the Australians also pushed themselves to get to the win, but it was difficult, as Eddie noted that the arms became increasingly heavier with every stroke. 

The last minute was a straight matchup between Itoi and Eloni. Both continued to give it their all, but at one point in the round, Eddie paused for a couple of seconds, while Japan continued. 

After the round concluded, Itoi expressed that he was in “indescribable” pain – a kind of pain he had never felt before. 

Both teams were confident that they performed better than their opponents. However, it was Team Japan that dominated the challenge with 1,116 points. 

Meanwhile, Team Australia finished with 961 points. 

Consequently, Team Japan moved on to the Fifth Quest. Meanwhile, Team Australia, along with Teams Korea and Mongolia, entered the second round, a Death Match. 

As per the rules of the Death Match, whichever team lost the challenge would be eliminated from Physical: Asia.

Viewers will have to tune in next Tuesday to see the results of the Death Match. 

Stay tuned for more updates.