Men's Saber Fencing Team Wins Dramatic Comeback Victory Over Japan for Gold... Oh Sang-uk Claims Second Double Crown

The South Korean men's sabre fencing team has achieved a milestone of winning four consecutive team gold medals at the Asian Games.

Composed of Oh Sang-uk, Park Sang-won (both from Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), Do Kyung-dong (Daegu Metropolitan City Hall), and Hwang Hee-geun (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps), the men's sabre team defeated Japan 45-44 in the final of the men's team sabre event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, today (the 26th) to claim the championship.

This is the 15th gold medal for the South Korean delegation at this tournament.

South Korea successfully achieved its fourth consecutive victory in the Asian Games men's team sabre event, following the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023) editions.

Ace Oh Sang-uk, who successfully defended his title in the individual event on the 23rd, joined hands with his teammates to win the team event as well, claiming his second consecutive double crown.

Oh Sang-uk secured his 5th career Asian Games gold medal, coming within one of sabre senior Gu Bon-gil (6 medals), who holds the record for the most gold medals by a South Korean athlete.

South Korea further solidified its image as a powerhouse by winning three consecutive men's team sabre gold medals at the Olympics—London 2012, Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), and Paris 2024—while also maintaining its hegemony at the Asian Games for over a decade.

Fencing team events determine the brackets based on seeds assigned according to each country's individual event results, competing for the championship in a tournament format.

Seeded first, South Korea received a bye in the round of 16, comfortably defeated India 45-25 in the quarterfinals, and achieved a resounding 45-24 victory against Hong Kong in the semifinals.

Following South Korea's heartbreaking one-point comeback loss to Japan in the women's team foil final earlier today, the men's team sabre final also set up a Korea-Japan showdown, serving as a revenge match for South Korea.

Park Sang-won went out first and took control by defeating Japan's leading figure Kokubo Mao 5-3, after which Oh Sang-uk widened the gap to 10-6 against veteran Japanese fencer Yoshida Kento.

After the third round where Do Kyung-dong faced Tsubo Hayato to push the lead further to 15-8, South Korea finished the fourth round well at 20-16 despite Park Sang-won struggling against Yoshida's seasoned play.

In the fifth round, Do Kyung-dong fended off Kokubo's pursuit to maintain a 25-21 lead, and Oh Sang-uk kept a 30-26 advantage despite being chased by Tsubo in the sixth round, seemingly coming within reach of their fourth consecutive title.

However, right as the seventh round began, Do Kyung-dong conceded six consecutive points to Yoshida, allowing a 30-32 turnaround, and ultimately conceded the 35th point first to fall behind 32-35.

In the eighth round, Park Sang-won succeeded in turning the game around with five consecutive points from a 34-38 deficit against Tsubo, but conceded a painful point at 39-39, struggling to shake off the disadvantage.

Facing the final ninth round trailing by a point, Oh Sang-uk also found himself in a desperate crisis, dragging behind 41-44 against Kokubo. In a situation where conceding just one more point would mean defeat, Oh Sang-uk rattled off four unanswered points to complete a dramatic comeback victory.

On this second day of the team events, South Korean fencing added a men's sabre gold medal and a women's foil silver medal, bringing their tally at this tournament to 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals.

Tomorrow (the 27th), the final day of fencing at this tournament, the men's epee and women's sabre team events will take place.

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