By Rumaiza Norova, OCA Youth Reporter from Tajikistan
Nagoya, Japan, September 25, 2026: Wang Chengjin left the Sanda platform with the gold medal Shoja Panahigelehkolaei had come to Japan determined to win. For both fighters, the men’s 65kg final carried unfinished business from the previous Asian Games - but only one of them left Nagoya with the ending he had wanted.
Wang defeated the Iranian 2-0 at Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall on Thursday, September 24, adding another title to China’s dominant final day in Sanda.
Their interpretations of Thursday’s opening round, however, could hardly have been further apart. Wang acknowledged taking time to settle into the contest. “In the first round I was slow to get going but I edged ahead at the end,” he said. “The second round was more comfortable.”
Panahigelehkolaei believed that opening round should have gone the other way. “I thought I won the first round,” he said. “I don’t understand why the judges thought I lost.” He said seeing the decision affected his approach to what followed, adding that he felt confused going into the second round.
Wang sensed the change, too, but from the opposite corner. Rather than following a specific attacking strategy, he said confidence guided his approach. “He lost the first round and then in the second I knew if I kept attacking him he would collapse.”
When the contest ended, Wang celebrated on the platform before leaving it as Asian Games champion. For him, the victory closed a gap left at the previous Asian Games: he had not been able to compete at Hangzhou.
“I wanted to make up for the disappointment of not being able to take part in the Hangzhou Asian Games,” Wang said. “I had to set aside the resentment and rally myself.” His first thought after finally winning the title was personal. “I am really delighted. I want to phone my old teacher.”
Across the platform, the same medal ceremony carried a different meaning. Panahigelehkolaei had already won silver at Hangzhou and arrived in Nagoya hoping to go one step further. Instead, he found himself with the same colour medal again.
“I’m sure in the future it will be a treasure for me,” he said of the silver. “But I trained hard, I went through pain, I went through pressure. Silver is good, but I came here for gold, and at this moment it’s disappointing.”
Two athletes had arrived carrying very different memories of Hangzhou. Wang had missed his chance to compete there; Panahigelehkolaei had competed and left one step short of gold. At the next Asian Games, they stood opposite each other with a chance to rewrite those memories. Wang did. For Panahigelehkolaei, the silver he says he may treasure one day will need time before it feels that way.