Fencing Men's Sabre Team Wins 3rd Consecutive Title... Korea's Nearly 300th Medal [Paris Olympics]

South Korea won its third consecutive gold medal in the men's team sabre fencing event at the Olympics. The team, consisting 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 (Armed Forces Athletic Corps), defeated Hungary 45-41 in the final held on the 1st (Korean time) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France. This marked their third consecutive victory following the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Games. The event was excluded from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games due to rotation. Oh Sang-wook, who won the individual sabre event, became the first Korean athlete in this competition to achieve two gold medals. He also earned the honor of becoming the first Korean fencer to win two gold medals at the Olympics.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

Thanks to the strong performance in men's fencing, South Korea has effectively reached 300 medals in the history of the Summer Olympics. Up to the 2020 Tokyo Games, South Korea had won 287 medals, and added twelve more during this Games up to this day. On the 9th, Jeon Sang-gyun, who placed 4th in the men's super heavyweight (over 105 kg) weightlifting event at the 2012 London Games, will receive a bronze medal in Paris. The original bronze medalist, Ruslan Albegov (Russia), was later disqualified for doping, promoting Jeon to third place. Including this medal, the men's team sabre gold medal won today will be recorded as South Korea's 300th medal in the history of the Summer Olympics.

The Korean delegation, which increased its gold medal count to six (along with three silver and three bronze medals) at this Games, also secured one silver medal today. This came as two Korean pairs faced each other in the mixed doubles badminton semifinals. World No. 2 Seo Seung-jae (Samsung Life Insurance) and Chae Yu-jung (Incheon International Airport) defeated Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 2-0 (21-15, 21-10). World No. 8 Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life Insurance) and Jung Na-eun (Hwasun County Office) also beat Malaysia's Chan Tang Jie and Teo Ee Yi 2-0 (21-19, 21-14). They will compete against each other on the afternoon of the 1st for a spot in the final. Women's singles World No. 1 An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) also advanced comfortably to the quarterfinals, defeating Chi Shu Pei (France, World No. 53) 2-0 (21-5, 21-7) in the second group stage match.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

Good news also came from archery. Nam Soo-hyun (Suncheon City Hall) advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Jana Ali (Egypt) in the women's individual round of 64 and Marie Horakova (Czech Republic) in the round of 32. Lee Woo-seok (Kolon) also reached the round of 16 in the men's individual event by consecutively defeating Peter Bukubalus (Australia) and Alessandro Oli (Italy). Table tennis singles players also showed a smooth start. Jang Woo-jin (sponsored by SEA, World No. 13) defeated Togami Shunsuke (Japan, World No. 15), and Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air, World No. 8) overcame Georgina Pota (Hungary, World No. 71) and Lily Zhang (USA, World No. 29) to reach the quarterfinals.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.