Japan's Matsuyama, Kazakhstan's Bakaldina win Gold on Day 3 in Men's Foil and Women's Epee
New Delhi, June 22
The third day of the 26th Asian Senior Fencing Championships in New Delhi witnessed several upsets and intense contests as the individual events concluded at Bharat Mandapam on Sunday. Serving as a key qualifier for the upcoming Asian Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the competition saw Japan continue its strong run through Kyosuke Matsuyama's men's foil gold, while Irina Bakaldina made history by securing Kazakhstan's first-ever individual women's epee title at the championships, according to a press release.
The young Indian contingent delivered promising performances on home pitches. In the Women's Epee, Prachi Lohan led the local charge with a 22nd-place finish, followed closely by rising star Taniksha Khatri in 29th. Mitva Jesangbhai Chaudhari finished 35th, and Yashkeerat Kaur Hayer took 43rd. On the Men's Foil side, Sachin Sachin paced the home squad in 25th place, while Sanasam Hemash Singh finished 37th, Tejas Manoj Patil took 47th, and Aditya Aditya finished 57th.
The day became a graveyard for tournament favourites. In Men's Foil, Hong Kong's reigning back-to-back Olympic gold medalist Cheung Ka Long was shocked in the quarterfinals by South Korea's Im Cheolwoo, leaving Cheung in 6th place overall. Defending Asian champion Choi Chun Yin Ryan of Hong Kong was also knocked out in the quarterfinals, falling to Japan's Kyosuke Matsuyama to finish 5th. In the Women's Épee bracket, South Korea's defending champion Song Se-ra was stopped in the semifinals by Kazakhstan's Irina Bakaldina, forcing her to settle for bronze.
The finals delivered incredible intensity. In Men's Foil, Japan showed its strength as teammates Kyosuke Matsuyama and Kazuki Iimura fought in an all-Japanese final. Matsuyama won the match to take Gold, leaving Iimura with Silver, while South Korea's Im Cheolwoo and Jeonghyun Youn shared the bronze.
In Women's Epee, Irina Bakaldina clinched a historic first-ever individual women's epee gold for Kazakhstan by defeating Hong Kong's Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh in a fierce final. Hsieh took home the silver, while Tamaki Terayama of Japan and South Korea's Song Se-ra shared the bronze.
With these results, Japan holds the championship lead with 3 gold medals from the first four events. These final individual standings now set up the brackets and psychological momentum for the highly anticipated team events starting tomorrow.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great to see the Asian championships in Delhi! Japan's dominance continues—Matsuyama vs Iimura final was a masterclass. But the big story for me is Cheung Ka Long's upset defeat! The Olympic gold medalist losing in quarters shows how competitive Asian fencing has become. Kazakhstan's first women's epee title is historic too. India's youngsters need more exposure at this level.
Our Indian fencers gave their best but the gap with top nations is visible. Prachi and Taniksha need more international competitions to sharpen their game. I hope the federation uses the home advantage to arrange training camps with Japanese and Korean coaches. The Asian Games qualifier status makes this even more important. 🤺
Historic day for Kazakhstan! Irina Bakaldina's gold is a testament to how far Central Asian fencing has come. It's inspiring for smaller nations like ours too. Our results may not be top yet, but hosting this championship itself is a big step. Well organized by the Indian fencing federation. Team events start tomorrow—hope our girls and boys surprise us!
Actually disappointed with the seeding and draws. Our fencers got tough matchups early. The organizers could have managed better scheduling for home athletes. But credit to Prachi and Sachin for fighting hard. Japan showed why they're world beaters—their technique and movement are next level. Need to learn from them. Team events will be interesting!
What a tournament this is becoming! Upsets galore—Cheung Ka Long out, Song Se-ra settling
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