Fencing Men's Foil Sole Competitor Hataegyu Eliminated in Round of 32 First Match [Paris Olympics]

Ha Taegyu (Chungnam Sports Council), the only Korean athlete competing in the men's individual foil event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was eliminated in his first match.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 29th, Ha Taegyu lost 13-15 to Carlos Lavador (Spain) in the round of 32 of the men's individual foil event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France. Born in 1989, veteran Ha Taegyu was a gold medalist in the men's team foil event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last year. Although this was his first Olympic appearance, his challenge ended in the first match.

Ranked 23rd in the men's individual foil world rankings, Ha Taegyu took an early lead of 7-4 against 14th-ranked Lavador by successfully executing several counterattacks in the first period. However, after the start of the second period, the score was tied at 7-7, leading to a close contest. Entering the third period trailing 12-13, Ha scored first aiming for a comeback, but consecutive points conceded afterward reversed the situation.

Ha Taegyu said, "I followed the strategy well in the beginning, but when my opponent changed tactics in the middle, I did not adjust and accepted it, which led to a close match." He added, "The most regrettable moment was when I successfully scored the point to make it 13-13 by attacking, but then went for another attack and was deceived by my opponent's move and got hit."

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