Silver Medal Secured: Men's Fencing Eyes 3 Consecutive Wins After Defeating France [Paris Olympics]

by Oh Suyon

Published 31 Jul.2024 23:59(KST)

The South Korean men's sabre fencing team is on the verge of achieving a three-peat in the Olympic team event.

Composed of Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), Koo Bon-gil (Korea Sports Promotion Foundation), Park Sang-won (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), and Do Kyung-dong (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps), the men's sabre team advanced to the finals by defeating France 45-39 in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic team event held on the 31st at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

Park Sang-won is competing against France's Bolard Apiti in the men's sabre team semifinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics fencing event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on the 31st (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

By beating the 'home team' France in this Paris Olympics, they have secured at least a silver medal.

The South Korean men's sabre team won consecutive gold medals at the 2012 London and 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics did not feature this event due to the sport rotation system. If they win this tournament, they will achieve a three-peat.

Oh Sang-wook, who won the gold medal in the individual event at the Paris Olympics earlier, is aiming for a double crown including the team event. If they win the team event as well, he will become the first South Korean athlete to win two gold medals at this Olympics and the first double Olympic gold medalist in Korean fencing history.

In the first round, Park Sang-won fell behind 2-5 against France's S?bastien Patrice. In the second round, Oh Sang-wook successfully landed consecutive thrust attacks against Maxime Pianfetti, overturning the score to 10-7.

In the following third and fourth rounds, Koo Bon-gil and Park Sang-won extended the score to 20-9. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Koo Bon-gil and Oh Sang-wook maintained a double-digit lead at 30-14.

In the eighth round, Park Sang-won allowed consecutive early points to Bolad Apiti, falling behind 39-30. However, in the final ninth round, Oh Sang-wook executed a clean attack against Patrice, securing the ticket to the finals with a 45-39 victory.

The South Korean men's sabre team will face the winner of the Hungary-Iran semifinal for the gold medal in the final match on August 1 at 3:30 AM (Korean time).