Adeola Fay Robert ended Malaysia’s wait for a gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games after defeating Iran’s Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi 6-4 in the women’s 55kg kumite final at Toyohashi Gymnasium, Aichi, today.
The 20-year-old Sabah-born karateka delivered Malaysia’s first gold of the Games after the national contingent had gone without a top-three finish in the medal table’s gold column since the competition began on Saturday.
Making her Asian Games debut, Adeola kept her composure throughout the final before securing the 6-4 victory and the biggest title of her career.
Her route to the final was equally impressive. Adeola edged 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games defending champion Sevinch Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 8-7 in the quarter-finals before overcoming Kazakhstan’s Bella Samasheva 5-4 in the semi-finals.
The victory marks another major step forward for Adeola, who won bronze in the women’s 55kg kumite at the 2025 Bangkok SEA Games in December.
Her Asian Games triumph also ends a 12-year wait for Malaysia in women’s karate, with Syakilla Salni having previously won gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Adeola’s gold takes Malaysia’s medal tally to one gold and three bronze medals, putting the country 15th on the medal table.
Malaysia’s other bronze medal today came from Tan Cheong Min in the Nanquan-Nandao event.
