Fencer Oh Sang-uk Advances to Men's Sabre Individual Final... Pursuing 2nd Consecutive Title

South Korean fencing star Oh Sang-uk (Daejeon City Hall) is now just one match away from winning his second consecutive gold medal in the men's sabre individual event at the Asian Games.

Oh secured at least a silver medal by advancing to the final after defeating Artyom Sarkissian (Kazakhstan) 15-9 in the semifinals of the men's sabre individual event at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, today (23rd).

Oh, who clinched the individual title at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, has reached the final stage for the second consecutive time and is challenging to defend his title.

The final match is scheduled to be held at 6:00 PM.

The men's sabre individual event, which allows up to two entries per country, determines medalists through a knockout tournament starting from the round of 32.

Entering this tournament, world No. 3 Oh Sang-uk and current No. 2 Do Gyeong-dong (Daegu City Hall) both competed, raising expectations for an all-Korean final.

Previously in the Asian Games men's sabre individual event, Gu Bon-gil and Kim Jung-hwan in 2014, and Gu Bon-gil and Oh Sang-uk in 2018, faced each other in the finals to share the gold and silver medals.

However, this time, as a result of the group stage determining the tournament bracket, Oh Sang-uk and Do Gyeong-dong were set to meet in the semifinals, dashing hopes of a final showdown.

Furthermore, Do Gyeong-dong suffered a defeat against Sarkissian in the quarterfinals, leaving Oh Sang-uk as the sole survivor in the semifinals to continue the medal race.

Sarkissian, who reached the semifinals through a dramatic upset after trailing 8-14 against Do Gyeong-dong, put up a close fight against Oh Sang-uk as well, but Oh did not allow a second upset.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.