Nagoya, Japan, September 20,2026: Kuwait’s Abdullah Shaaban captured the gold medal in the men’s kumite -60 kg category at the 20th Asian Games on Sunday, defeating Qatar’s Abdelrahman Abdelhamid in an all-Arab final at Toyohashi City General Gymnasium.
The victory delivered Kuwait its first gold medal of the karate competition and elevated Shaaban to the top of the Asian Games podium following his silver medal finish at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Shaaban controlled the tempo of bout 135, relying on counter-attacks and defensive discipline to shut down Abdelhamid’s offensive combinations. Abdelhamid took silver for Qatar.
"I’ve been doing karate from 2000 to 2026, 26 years. I wanted to end well, and God gave me the gold medal," Shaaban said following the medal ceremony.
The 32-years old noted the significant demands of preparing for Nagoya while fulfilling major administrative responsibilities back home.
"At the last Asian Games, I took the silver medal. And now I am chair of the athletes committee in the NOC and a member of Kuwait’s Olympic Committee," Shaaban said. "I am busy with helping our athletes, so this competition became too hard for me because I must balance training and work."
Abdelhamid had reached the final following an emphatic 7–1 semi final victory over Malaysia’s Sureeya Sankar. Sankar rebounded in the repechage rounds to secure bronze, sharing the bottom step of the podium with Saudi Arabia’s Saud Al-Basher.