Niu Xinran Secures Women’s Over-78kg Gold at Asian Games

Xinran Niu secured the women’s over-78kg gold medal at the Asian Games in Nagoya, ending a 12-year drought for China in the sport’s heaviest weight division at the continental tournament. Entering the bracket as the world’s No. 9-ranked competitor in the category, Niu defeated South Korea’s fourth-ranked Lee Hyunji in the final by ippon in just 1 minute and 46 seconds. The victory marks a turning point for a division that once produced four Olympic champions for China—Zhuang Xiaoyan, Sun Fuming, Yuan Hua, and Tong Wen—but has spent the last decade struggling to win gold medals at world-level events.

Bracket Path Through Nagoya

Because of her world ranking, Niu opened her tournament in the quarterfinal round. She faced Chinese Taipei’s Chang Lingfang in her first bout, advancing with an ippon victory. In the semifinal, she met Mongolia’s Amarsaikhan, securing a narrow win on an effective point margin to earn her spot in the gold medal match.

The final pitted Niu against South Korea’s Lee Hyunji, who held the world No. 4 ranking and had previously climbed to the top spot in the world standings the prior year. Lee opened the bout with aggressive attacks, capturing the initial effective point. Rather than forcing exchanges, Niu waited for a counter-attacking window. When Lee pressed to escape an arm hold, Niu executed an outer-roll technique directly into an ippon finish at the 1:46 mark.

Rematch Dynamics Against Lee Hyunji

The Nagoya final was a rematch of the April Asian Championships, where Niu and Lee required a golden score extra time period before Niu prevailed. Reflecting on the swift conclusion in Nagoya, Niu noted that the rematch played out differently than anticipated.

“We are old opponents and have met many times, and her strength is very high,” Niu said. “I prepared for her techniques while warming up off the mat. Winning this time wasn’t easy; I just caught the right timing. Compared to last time, I have improved significantly and my mentality is much steadier.”

Coach Pan Yuqing emphasized that the coaching staff deliberately steered Niu away from relying on memories of their previous encounter. “I told her not to look for the feeling of winning last time, but to treat them as if they were meeting for the first time and not to rush,” Pan said.

Niu Helps Rebuild China's Women's Heavyweight Depth

The gold medal carries added weight for a Chinese team working to rebuild depth in a division where international competition has intensified. China has not captured an Olympic or world championship gold medal in the women’s heavyweight class in recent years, making Niu’s continental breakthrough a vital milestone.

“My training is very hard, and if I don’t achieve good results in competition, I would be letting down the effort I put into training,” Niu said. “When the pre-competition preparation was extremely intense, I would be so tired I cried. As soon as I thought about having enough stamina during the competition, I had to wipe away my tears and keep going, which is how I got through it.”

Baku World Championships on the Horizon

With the Nagoya tournament concluded, Niu has little time to rest. The World Judo Championships are scheduled to begin on October 4 in Baku, where Niu will immediately return to international competition.

“I look forward to achieving good results again at the World Championships and moving toward the championship podium,” Niu said. “Next, I will make no pause in my preparation, build up my physical reserves, and strive to play at my absolute best.”