Saber fencer Artem Sarkisyan, 27, claimed Kazakhstan's first fencing medal at the 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan, stepping onto the bronze podium, infohub.kz reports.

The Karaganda native began his run in the preliminary stage, winning four of five bouts. In the round of 16, the Kazakh defeated India's Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma 15-11.

In the quarterfinals, Sarkisyan faced Paris 2024 Olympic champion Do Gyeongdong of South Korea. In a tight, even battle, the Kazakh saber fencer pulled out a 15-14 victory, guaranteeing himself at least a bronze medal.

In the semifinals, Sarkisyan met an even more formidable South Korean — three-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion Oh Sanguk. Trailing 4-8, the Karaganda native nearly caught up at 7-8, but a second upset did not materialize: the bout ended 9-15.

Despite the semifinal loss, Sarkisyan made history as the first Kazakh to win an Asian Games medal in individual saber competition.

On the same day, Kazakh foil fencers Sofia Aktayeva and Alina Gnoyeva exited in the round of 16, while saber fencer Nurmukhamed Zhailybai failed to qualify from the preliminary bouts.

A day earlier, epee fencers Irina Bakaldina and Vladislava Andreeva lost in the quarterfinals, finishing one step short of the medals.

Overall at Asian Games fencing tournaments, Kazakhstan has won three gold, four silver and 13 bronze medals. The epee team claimed the title twice (1994, 2002), as did Dmitry Alexanin in the same weapon at the 2018 Asian Games.

The official opening ceremony of the 20th Summer Asian Games took place on September 19. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.

On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstan won four gold medals. Cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko became champions, along with karate athletes Zholaman Bigabyl and Sofia Berultseva. MMA fighter Yerkingali Burkutalin added the team's fifth gold the day before, and his mixed martial arts teammate Kadyrbek Shynbayev took the sixth. Today, Lutsenko became a two-time champion of the 2026 Asian Games.

After the third day of the Games, Kazakhstan stood fourth in the unofficial medal standings.