Japan Dominates Asian Fencing Championship in Bali

KBRN, Bali: Japan emerged as the overall champion, securing a total of seven gold medals at the 2025 Asian Fencing Championship in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"We concentrated from the beginning of the competition and are very happy with this result," said Japanese men's foil team athlete Kyosuke Matsuyama in Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali, on Sunday, June 22, 2025, as quoted by antaranews.com.

According to Matsuyama, this victory also reclaimed the overall championship title previously won at the same event in Wuxi, China, in 2023. The Land of the Rising Sun also collected a total of two silver medals and three bronze medals, bringing their grand total to 12 medals.

China clinched second place in the medal standings with two gold, five silver, and four bronze medals, totaling 11 medals. South Korea finished third, earning two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals, for a total of seven medals.

Hong Kong secured fourth place with one gold and four bronze medals, while Singapore ranked fifth with one silver and one bronze medal.

Meanwhile, host country Indonesia did not secure any medals at the event. Indonesia fielded a total of 25 athletes selected through national trials and who underwent national training camps to compete in the 2025 Asian Fencing Championship. Despite not winning any medals, the Indonesian team hopes the event provided valuable experience for their athletes.

The competition in Bali also served as a warm-up for the upcoming Southeast Asian regional sporting event, the SEA Games 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand, this December.

"Hopefully, at the SEA Games in Bangkok, we can achieve our target and get the best results," said Muhammad Indra Haryana, Indonesia's épée fencing coach, on the final day of the competition.

The 2025 Asian Fencing Championship saw approximately 446 athletes from 28 out of 30 registered Asian countries participate. Kuwait became the last country to participate after its initial cancellation due to being affected by the Israel-Iran conflict. Iraq and Iran were the two other countries that withdrew from the competition due to the conflict's impact. ***