Japan women secured a 43-12 victory over Uzbekistan in the Asian Games on 20 September 2026, moving into second place in their group with two points from one game. The result extends Japan's recent run of strong performances at this level.
By then, Japan had already played their opening fixture, which explains their position in the standings while Uzbekistan remain unplayed with zero points. The hosts' most recent outing was a 40-14 win over Vietnam on 19 September, and before that a 27-23 victory against Senegal in December 2025.
Uzbekistan's last recorded matches date back to 2023, with a 40-28 result against Thailand and a 33-37 loss to Kazakhstan. Those fixtures suggest a different era of competition for them, and one might wonder how much has changed since then.
And here's the thing about a 43-12 scoreline — it doesn't tell you much about the flow of the game, only the gap between the sides on this occasion. Japan's attack was clinical, while Uzbekistan's defence offered little resistance.
The result leaves Japan top of their early group standings, though with only one game played so far, the table goes out of the window in these games. Uzbekistan still have everything to play for when they take to the court again.
