By OCA Young Reporter Zaynab Kawtharani from Lebanon
Nagoya, Japan, September 26, 2026: Host nation Japan won the women’s team foil gold medal at the Aichi Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, defeating Korea 29–28 in a final decided by one touch at Aichi Sky Expo.
Sera Azuma, Komaki Kikuchi, Sumire Tsuji and Yuka Ueno represented Japan. The team beat India 45–14 in the quarterfinals and Hong Kong, China 45–27 in the semifinals before meeting Korea for gold.
Azuma said Ueno helped carry Japan through a difficult final. “I feel sorry that I caused a lot of trouble for the team in the final but, in the end, Yuka made up for it,” she said. “I am filled with gratitude and joy that we won the gold medal.”
Despite the victory, Azuma said she had lessons to take from the match. When the team began to lose momentum, she felt unable to change its direction. She said she wanted to think more carefully about how to respond when that situation arises again.
Korea took silver with a team comprising Park Jihee, Mo Byeoli, Sin Soeun and Lee Sejoo. They defeated Macao, China 45–32 in the quarterfinals and China 43–35 in the semifinals.
Hong Kong, China and China each received bronze following their semifinal defeats. Hong Kong, China had beaten Singapore 45–35 in the quarterfinals, while China had overcome Kazakhstan 40–36.
Hong Kong, China’s Valerie Cheng Hiu Wai said her team had given everything against Japan. “It was an honour to fence with them,” she said. Although the result fell short of what the team had hoped for, she was pleased to leave with bronze and wanted to continue working towards victories over leading teams.
Cheng singled out Ueno, whom she had faced several times before, for her speed, technique and precise decisions. She said Ueno’s certainty in each attack had shown her the value of being more decisive when trying to score a touch.
The bronze medallist also reflected on what she had learned at her third Asian Games. Experienced fencers had shown her how to manage difficult situations, she said, while younger competitors had impressed her with their fearlessness. Cheng admitted she had been nervous at the start of her first match and hoped to bring more confidence to future contests.
Daphne Chan Nok Sze, Janelle Leung Ya Lei and Sophia Wu completed the Hong Kong, China team. China’s bronze medal team comprised Fu Yingying, Song Yue, Zhang Siqi and Huang Qianqian.