Thevendran delivers Malaysia’s first medal in Asian Games
The national karate exponent defeated his opponent from Nepal 9-1 to clinch the bronze medal in the men’s below 55kg kumite event.
Malaysia has claimed its first medal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after karate athlete K Thevendran secured a bronze medal in the men's under 55kg kumite event. The victory came in the bronze medal tie against Nepal's Rakesh Manandhar, with Thevendran defeating his opponent 9-1. Thevendran scored six Yuko (one-point awards) and one Ippon (three-point award) to clinch the victory, while Rakesh managed only one Yuko.
In another highlight, Malaysia's men's hockey team started their campaign with a dominant 7-0 win over Uzbekistan in their opening match at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Striker Faizal Saari scored a hat-trick, contributing a 15th-minute field goal, a 24th-minute penalty corner goal, and a penalty stroke goal in the 43rd minute.
Other goals for Malaysia were scored by Norsyafiq Sumantri, Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin, Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, and Faiz Helmi Jali. The reigning champions will face Oman in their next Group B match on Tuesday. The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which began yesterday, will conclude on October 4.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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