By Julian Linden, OCA Media
Nagoya, Japan, October 1, 2026: The four semifinalists for the women’s 7s at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games were all decided on an action-filled opening day of play with Japan, China, Thailand and Hong Kong, China all registering double victories on Thursday.
With the top two teams from each of the two pools advancing to the semis, the first clue to who will end up collecting the medals on Saturday was provided when the four big regional powerhouses all flexed their rugby muscles.
Japan conceded just one try while running in 14 in seeing off the challenges of Singapore by 36-5 and Kazakhstan 48-0 in steamy conditions at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field that tested the fitness as well as the skill of all the players.
With Thailand also winning its two Pool D encounters, defeating Kazakhstan 28-5 then Singapore 36-0, both teams are safely through to the knockout phase and will square off on Friday to decide who tops the group before the semifinal crossovers.
“Thailand are a very physical team with a lot of speed, and they’re at a higher level than our opponents today,” Japan captain Michiyo Suda said.
“The nature of sevens is that you want to play your best in the final. Our plan is to put ourselves in that position over these three days, and tomorrow’s match against Thailand will be key to accomplishing that. We want tomorrow’s match to be the bridge to day three, of course in terms of winning but also how we play.”
Thailand won the bronze medal in 2010 but finished fourth at the last two editions of the Asian Games.
The game is growing rapidly in Thailand, so to help prepare for this year’s event, they recently trained alongside the current Olympic champions.
“We trained with New Zealand’s Black Ferns sevens. It was the most amazing experience,” Thailand back Thanachporn Wandee said.
China won the women’s gold at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, beating Japan 22-21 in a thriller at home - but are away this time.
Nonetheless, the Chinese made a strong start to their title defence with two resounding wins in Pool E, a 43-0 demolition job on Malaysia followed by a 43-5 victory over a lively India side.
“I am very happy because we finished the job that our coach gave us to do,” Chinese skipper Dou Xinrong said. “We have to put in 100% effort to defend against the challengers.”
Bronze medallists at the last Asian Games, Hong Kong, China also made a big impression on the opening day, beating India 33-7 then Malaysia 36-12 and are looking to take inspiration from their men’s team. who have twice won gold, and stayed at the ground in Nagoya to cheer them on.
“The men’s team have done so well in the past, and they’re top in Asia. We train with them every day at the Hong Kong Sports Institute,” the team’s captain Chloe Chan said.
“We are quite close with them, and it’s nice for them to watch us as well.”
