Fencing Team Event Begins... Osanguk Aims for 2 Titles + Team's 3rd Consecutive Win Challenge [Paris Olympics]

Men's Sabre 'World's Strongest' · Women's Epee 'World No. 2'
Osanguk · Gubongil Aim for Third Olympic Gold

The fencing team, which secured one gold medal in the individual events, will begin their quest for team event medals starting on the 30th (local time). The fencing team aims to win two or more gold medals for the first time in 12 years since their best-ever performance at the 2012 London Olympics (2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).

There is a strong possibility of winning additional gold medals. The Korean fencing team is participating in three team events: men's sabre, women's epee, and women's sabre. Among these, gold medals are expected in men's sabre and women's epee. The men's sabre team is ranked number 1 in the world, and the women's epee team is ranked second globally, following Italy. The women's sabre team is ranked fourth, behind France, Hungary, and Ukraine.

The men's sabre team is aiming for their third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the team event. They won gold medals consecutively at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There was no men's sabre team event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics due to the rotation system.

The men's sabre team's eldest member, Gu Bon-gil (35), and ace Oh Sang-wook (27) will each earn their third Olympic gold medal if they win gold in the sabre team event. Although Gu Bon-gil never achieved his wish of winning an individual Olympic medal, he aims to finish on a high note with a third consecutive team gold. Gu was a key player in the team gold medals at the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Oh Sang-wook, who won the team gold at the Tokyo Olympics, also secured an individual gold medal at this Paris Olympics. Oh, who became the first high school student ever to join the national sabre team in 2014, is still only 27 years old. With many Olympic opportunities ahead, winning a third gold medal this time would put him in contention to challenge the record for the most gold medals at the Summer Olympics held by Kim Soo-nyung (53, archery) and Jin Jong-oh (45, shooting), who each have four gold medals.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Having won the individual gold medal, Oh Sang-wook is expected to approach the team event with a lighter heart. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Oh was the top-ranked individual and the most likely gold medal contender. However, he suffered an unexpected defeat in the quarterfinals and failed to win an individual medal, but he secured gold this time at the Paris Olympics, where he entered ranked fourth in the world.

The men's sabre team will face the world-ranked 10th Canada in the quarterfinals at 8:30 PM Korean time on the 31st. If they win, they will face the winner of the France (4th) vs. Egypt (6th) match in the semifinals at 10:50 PM the same day.

The women's epee team will challenge for gold a day earlier. On the 30th at 8:30 PM, the women's epee team will face France, ranked 9th in the world, in the quarterfinals. If victorious, they will meet the winner of the Poland (3rd) vs. USA (6th) match in the semifinals at 10:50 PM.

The women's epee team lost in the finals consecutively at the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This time, they are determined to finally claim the gold medal. Unlike the men's sabre team, which has undergone a generational change, the women's epee team includes members who also competed at the Tokyo Olympics: Kang Young-mi (39), Choi In-jeong (34), Song Se-ra (31), and Lee Hye-in (29).

The women's sabre team, although ranked relatively lower in the world rankings, will challenge for an upset with key players such as Yoon Ji-su (31), who won the individual gold medal at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, and Choi Se-bin (24) and Jeon Ha-young (23), who have shown competitiveness in individual events. The women's sabre team will compete last on the 3rd of next month. They will face the 5th-ranked USA in the quarterfinals. If they win, they will face the winner of the France (1st) vs. Algeria (7th) match.

The fencing team achieved a remarkable feat at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last year by medaling in all team events. At that time, the men's sabre and women's epee teams won gold medals, while the women's sabre team took bronze.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.