Toyohashi, Japan, September 21, 2026: Four champions were crowned on the second day of karate at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, with Japan, Uzbekistan and China taking the four gold medals decided at Toyohashi City General Gymnasium on Monday.
The session featured one individual kata final
and three kumite gold-medal bouts.
Japan’s Kakeru Nishiyama won the men’s individual kata title after defeating Macao China’s Fong Man Hou by a unanimous 5–0 decision. Nishiyama
reached the final with 5–0 victories over opponents from Sri Lanka and Indonesia before beating Kuwait 4–1 in the semifinal.
The final drew a strong response from the arena for both athletes. Despite Nishiyama competing in front of a home crowd, both finalists received loud applause. Nishiyama appeared calm and controlled during
his performance, while his forceful kiai brought another roar from the stands before the judges confirmed his victory.
Uzbekistan’s Abdul Vakhkhob Rashidov then won the men’s -67kg kumite title, defeating Japan’s Yugo Kozaki 7–5. Much of the crowd backed the Japanese finalist, but Uzbek supporters answered with loud chants of
their own throughout the bout.
“The emotions are great, the mood is great. Alhamdulillah, everything is good,” Rashidov said after the final. “It was the result we expected.” His victory gave Uzbekistan its first gold medal of the
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
China claimed the next title through Gong Li in the women’s -61kg kumite final. Gong defeated Kazakhstan’s Assel Kanay 8–2 after
reaching the gold-medal bout with an 8–0 semifinal victory over Korea’s An Jeongeun.
Gong’s victory completed a strong run through the bracket. Earlier in the competition, she defeated Japan’s Sarara Shimada 6–2 and Zakiah
Adnan 8–1 before overcoming An in the semifinal and Kanay for gold.
The final event of the session brought China a second consecutive women’s kumite gold. Li Qiaoqiao defeated Jordan’s Joud Aldrous 4–3 in
the women’s -68kg final after advancing past Japan’s Tsubasa Kama 7–4 in the semifinal.
Li had earlier beaten Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Dieu Ly 4–1 in the quarterfinal. Aldrous reached the title bout after a 4–0 semifinal victory over Hong Kong, China’s Wong Cheuk Lee, setting up the 4–3 gold-medal contest.
The four finals therefore produced champions from three delegations: Nishiyama for Japan, Rashidov for Uzbekistan and Gong and Li for
China. The session moved from the precision of kata to three kumite finals, closing the second day of Asian Games karate with four new champions.
Photo caption: Karate medalists pose on the podium at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Toyohashi, Japan, on September. 21, 2026. Photo by
Rumaiza Norova.