Japan wins Asian 7s Series

Japan gained some revenge for losing in the final of the Asian Games by winning the second leg of the Asian Sevens Series, and with it’s the series itself after winning the first leg in Korea in August.

On the first day, Japan and Hong Kong comfortably topped Pool A, while China just edged Pool B on points difference over Thailand after drawing 12-12 in the final game.

Thailand had last beaten China in 2008, losing most of their meetings since by an average of 27 points, so this was a remarkable performance, suggesting that since their Asian Games win China were making the Sevens Series less of a priority.

And that was perhaps confirmed when China surprisingly lost their semi-final against Hong Kong, their first defeat in the fixture since 2018.

Japan meanwhile swept on, dismissing Thailand comfortably in their semi-final, before beating Hong Kong in the final.

Results

Pool A: Hong Kong 31-5 Kazakhstan: Japan 36-0 Malaysia: Hong Kong 39-10 Malaysia: Japan 26-7 Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan 17-0 Malaysia: Japan 17-7 Hong Kong

Pool B: Thailand 43-0 Singapore: China 43-0 Philippines: Thailand 32-0 Philippines: China 57-0 Singapore: Singapore 24-5 Philippines: China 12-12 Thailand

5th-8th Place Semi Finals: Kazakhstan 34-0 Philippines; Malaysia 24-15 Singapore

Semi-Finals: Japan 14-5 Thailand; Hong Kong 17-14 China

7th Place: Philippines 5-10 Singapore

5th Place: Kazakhstan 26-19 Malaysia

3rd Place: Thailand 0-19 China

Final: Japan 29-5 Hong Kong