The Japan women's badminton team won gold at the Asian Games for the first time since 1970 on Wednesday, despite the slump of its top player, beating China 3-1 in the final and preventing it from claiming its sixth consecutive win in this event.

Singles world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi's horror tournament continued into the final, with the 21-year-old again dropping the first rubber of the tie as she did in the semifinals and quarterfinals.

This time it was China's Chen Yufei that proved too tough, beating Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-12, in 38 minutes at GBK Istora Arena in Jakarta.