▲ South Korea's fencing star Oh Sang-uk poses with the Taegeukgi after winning the gold medal in the men's sabre individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 23rd. (Photo: Yonhap News)
Overcoming injuries to secure a second consecutive individual gold medal at the Asian Games, South Korean fencing ace Oh Sang-uk (Daejeon City Hall) expressed relief at overcoming the burden of defending his title and vowed to sweep the upcoming team event as well.
After winning the men's sabre individual title at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, today (the 23rd), Oh shared his thoughts, saying, "I felt a sense of pressure because I had to defend my title, but I am glad I overcame it."
Having reached the top of this event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, Oh captured the gold medal by defeating Shen Tianpeng (China) 15-13 in the final.
After making his first appearance at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games where he took silver following a defeat against national team senior Gu Bon-gil in the final, Oh achieved two consecutive titles, bringing his total Asian Games record to two individual gold medals and one silver medal across three appearances.
Having already won two gold medals in the team event (Jakarta and Hangzhou), he has now increased his total number of Asian Games gold medals to four.
Oh said, "Before coming here, I felt a lot of pressure, but I tried to focus more on the matches. Starting yesterday, I used a lot of self-hypnosis and practiced mind control."
Oh's gold medal at this tournament shined even brighter as it was achieved by overcoming injuries.
He prepared for the Asian Games while dealing with a back injury throughout the previous season.
Oh confessed, "My disc ruptured, and I am still in pain."
He explained, "I paid a lot of attention to conditioning exercises and treatment, and started focusing heavily on technical and tactical training a month or two before the Asian Games. It wasn't like it didn't affect my matches, but the moment I stepped onto the piste, I forgot about it. I went in with the mindset that even if I lost, the injury would just be an excuse."
He added, "I was told that surgery was entirely up to me, but I didn't get it done because the Asian Games were approaching. Now I need to look into what would be better."
During the final against Shen Tianpeng that day, Oh also suffered an impact to his ankle when their feet collided early in the match.
Regarding this, he conveyed, "It feels a bit throbbing, but it shouldn't be a problem for me to compete in the team event."
In the men's sabre individual event, defending champion Oh Sang-uk and current world number two Do Kyung-dong (Daejeon City Hall) were both entered, raising expectations for another all-Korean final clash, but it did not happen.
As a result of the group stage determining the bracket, the two players were set to meet in the semifinals, but the matchup fell through when Do Kyung-dong was eliminated in the quarterfinals following a comeback defeat.
Oh said, "I naturally thought we would meet, but it seems Do Kyung-dong had some minor injuries along the way. It's a pity we couldn't meet. Still, Kyung-dong cheered for me a lot, and I felt a strong sense that I had to carry his share as well, so I'm glad I managed to pull it off."
After trailing 11-13 in a tight battle against Shen Tianpeng in the final before securing four straight points at the end to win, he noted, "Shen Tianpeng has become really trickier than before. The Kazakhstan athlete (Artyom Sarkissian) I met in the semifinals was also tricky. I can physically feel that Asia is getting stronger."
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.