For six months, Japan had been preparing to settle an old score with China. On Friday, they came agonisingly close, only for Tang Zhihua to deliver another crushing blow to their Asian Para Games gold medal ambitions.
Tang’s second-half strike gave defending champions China a 1-0 victory in the blind football final at Terraspo Tsuruma, leaving the hosts with silver and the bitter feeling of having fallen short against the same opponents once again.
Japan had lost the Asian Championship final to China in April and suffered another 1-0 defeat in their opening match in Nagoya. The third meeting of the year proved equally unforgiving.
Tang Finds The Breakthrough
China coach Zheng Haisheng had anticipated an aggressive Japanese approach. Familiarity between the sides meant few surprises, and neither team could break the deadlock before halftime.
Zheng, however, remained confident. “I reminded the players that since we had already created so many chances in the first half, there would be more opportunities in the second,” he said.
His prediction proved correct when Tang finally found the net.
“In my view, whether it was him or someone else, a goal was always going to come eventually,” Zheng added.
China protected their advantage to retain the title, with Zheng praising the collective effort behind the victory.
Japan Left To Rue Familiar Mistakes
For Japan’s Ryo Kawamura, the defeat was especially painful because he could see how much his team had improved.
“We lost (to China) in the Asian championship final in April, and our target for the last half a year has been to get our revenge,” he said.
“In this final I could feel the progress we’ve made in the last half-year of preparations, but it feels very frustrating to give up a goal in the second half.”
Japan had recovered from their opening defeat with four consecutive victories, including a 2-1 win over Iran, to earn another shot at China.
Their pressing and transitions had improved, Kawamura felt, but the decisive moments still belonged to their rivals.
“We were able to maintain our advantage and create plays, but in terms of quality there’s still a gap between us and China, and that led to their goal,” he admitted.
Iran Turn Defeat Into Bronze
Earlier, Iran overturned an early deficit to defeat Thailand 2-1 in the bronze-medal match.
Kittikorn Buadee put Thailand ahead in the ninth minute, but Hossein Rajabpour equalised two minutes later before Morteza Karimi struck in the 13th to complete a swift turnaround.
Iran held on to avenge their 1-0 preliminary-round defeat to Thailand and secure a podium finish.
For China, meanwhile, another continental title was also an investment in the future. Zheng’s squad includes players aged between 17 and 35, with the younger generation being groomed for Los Angeles 2028.
“Our squad is structured so that the old lead the new,” he said.Brief results: Final: China beat Japan 1-0 (Tang Zhihua); bronze-medal match: Iran beat Thailand 2-1 (Hossein Rajabpour, Morteza Karimi; Kittikorn Buadee).
