Japan Wins Four out of Six Individual Gold Medals at the 2026 Asian Senior Zonal Championships being held in New Delhi, India.
Nearly 400 fencers competed in the individual competitions at the spectacular state-of-the art Bharat Mandapam Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The first gold medal went to Yuka Ueno of Japan, who topped a field of 59 when she defeated countrymate Azuma Sera 15-10 in the final bout of women’s foil.
In the semifinals, Ueno defeated another countrymate, Komaki Kikuchi 15-12, while Azuma scored a 15-8 victory over Daphne Chan Nok Sze of Hong Kong, China.
Kikuchi and Chan both earned bronze medals.
Final Rankings – Women’s Individual Foil
- Yuka Ueno (JPN, Gold)
- Sera Azuma (JPN, Silver)
- Komaki Kikuchi (JPN, Bronze)
- Daphne Chan Nok Sze (HKG, Bronze)
Men’s sabre had a field of 69 and it was no surprise to see the defending Olympic champion (Paris 2024) Sanguk Oh of the Republic of Korea on the top of the podium as he defeated Shaotong Luo of China 15-8 to take the gold.
In the semifinals, Oh defeated Gyeongdong Do of Korea 15-9 while Luo bested Shido Tsumori of Japan 15-7.
Do and Tsumori both took bronze.
Final Rankings – Men’s Individual Sabre
- Sanguk Oh (KOR, Gold)
- Shaotong Luo (CHN, Silver)
- Gyeongdong Do (KOR, Bronze)
- Shido Tsumori (JPN, Bronze)
Men’s epee had the largest field of the championships with 86 and Masaru Yamada of Japan took the gold by defeating Rang Lee of Chinese Taipei 15-8.
In the semifinals Yamada overcame his countrymate Koki Kano, the world ranked #1 and defending Olympic (Paris 2024) and World champion (Tbilisi 2025), in a hard-fought 15-13 bout.
In the other semifinal, Lee bested Ruslan Kurbanov of Kazakhstan 15-12.
Both Kano and Kurbanov earned bronze.
Final Rankings – Men’s Individual Epee
- Masaru Yamada (JPN, Gold)
- Rang Lee (TPE, Silver)
- Koki Kano (JPN, Bronze)
- Ruslan Kurbanov (KAZ, Bronze)
In women’s foil, Yui Sano won Japan’s third gold medal when she defeated Sebin Choi of Korea 15-12 to top a field of 45 fencers.
In the semifinals, Sano bested Gulistan Perdebaeva of Uzbekistan 15-10, while Choi scored a decisive 15-4 victory over Xueyi Rao of China.
Perdebaeva and Rao earned bronze medals.
Final Rankings – Women’s Individual Sabre
- Yui Sano (JPN, Gold)
- Sebin Choi (KOR, Silver)
- Xueyi Rao (CHN, Bronze)
- Gulistan Perdebaeva (UZB, Bronze)
Irina Bakaldina of Kazakhstan defeated Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh of Hong Kong, China 15-12 to take the gold in women’s epee in a field of 67 fencers.
In the semifinals, Bakaldina defeated world ranked #3 Sera Song of Korea 15-7 while Hsieh scored a narrow 15-13 victory over Tamaki Terayama of Japan.
Both Song and Tamaki took bronze medals.
Final Rankings – Women’s Individual Epee
- Irina Bakaldina (KAZ, Gold)
- Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh (HKG, Silver)
- Sera Song (KOR, Bronze)
- Tamaki Terayama (JPN, Bronze)
Kyosuke Matsuyama of Japan defeated countrymate Kazuki Iimura 15-13 to win gold in men’s foil.
In the semifinals, Matsuyama defeated Jeonghyun Youn of Korea 15-12 while Iimura outhit Cheolwoo Im of Korea 15-10.
Im and Youn both took bronze medals.
In a very strong field of 73 fencers, neither the two-time defending Olympic champion (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024) Ka Long Cheung or the world-ranked #2 and defending World champion (Tbilisi 2025) Chun Yin Ryan Choi, both of Hong Kong, China, reached the podium.
Both were eliminated in the quarterfinals, as Matsuyama defeated Choi 15-12 and Im defeated Cheung 15-13.
Final Ranking – Men’s Individual Foil
- Kyosuke Matsuyama (JPN, Gold)
- Kazuki Iimura (JPN, Silver)
- Cheolwoo Im (KOR, Bronze)
- Jeonghyun Youn (KOR, Bronze)
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