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NAGOYA – Karate exponent Adeola Fay Robert delivered Malaysia's first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games after defeating Iran's Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi 6-4 in the women's under-55kg kumite final at Toyohashi Gymnasium today.
The 20-year-old Sabah-born athlete produced a composed and energetic performance to secure the gold on her Asian Games debut.
Adeola booked her place in the final after defeating Kazakhstan's Bella Samasheva 5-4 in the semi-finals, following wins over Kuwait's Asrar Jasem 9-1 and Uzbekistan's Sevinch Rakhimova 8-7 in the earlier rounds.
The victory continued Adeola's positive momentum after she won a bronze medal at the 2025 Bangkok SEA Games.
She also ended Malaysia's wait for a women's karate gold medal, with the country's previous victory coming through Syakilla Salni at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Adeola admitted she had not expected to reach the final on her Asian Games debut but was determined to give her best without thinking too much about the outcome.
“Honestly, I did not expect to reach the final. I just wanted to do my best and see what the outcome would be,” she said.
Adeola began representing Malaysia in 2024 after her coach, R. Sharmendran, identified her potential to compete at international level.
“I did not expect 2024 to mark the start of my national squad journey. Coach Sharmendran saw that I had the talent and qualities to compete internationally.
“He brought me in for training first before I went through the selection process, and from that selection, I joined the national squad in December 2024,” she said. –BERNAMA
