'How could this be' — due to the blockade protest, Oh Sang-uk used a borrowed sword and the result was an 'overwhelming first place'... a triumphant victory in the sabre individual event! [Asian Championships]

*This content was translated by AI.

Oh Sang-uk of Daejeon Metropolitan City, the flagship of Korean men's fencing, overcame adverse conditions to claim the individual title at the Asian Championships for the first time in two years.

On the 19th (local time), Oh defeated China's Luo Xiaotong 15-8 in the final of the men's sabre individual event at the 2026 Asian Championships held in New Delhi, India, securing the gold medal.

With this victory, Oh reclaimed the Asian Championships individual title for the first time since his 2024 win.

This championship comes as a hard-won achievement amid a series of setbacks facing the national fencing team.

Recently, the handball arena at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where the Korean Fencing Association is based, has been under lockdown and paralyzed due to a blockade protest triggered by a shortage of ballot papers for the the 3rd local elections.

As a result, Oh Sang-uk and other national team members were unable to transport their personal equipment, such as competition swords, and instead traveled to India using equipment borrowed from their respective affiliated teams.

Although it was not his familiar sword, Oh remained unfazed.

Oh defeated India's Karan Singh 15-11 in the round of 32, then overcame Uzbekistan's Islambek Abdazov 15-6 in the round of 16.

He then defeated Japan's Mao Kokubo 15-12 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.

His semifinal opponent was Do Kyung-dong of Daegu Metropolitan City, a junior teammate of the 'defending champion'Lee Ja (CEO) team. Oh won this match 15-9.

Ultimately, Do Kyung-dong was blocked by Oh Sang-uk and failed to achieve a two-peat. However, he secured a valuable bronze medal, earning an individual medal at the Asian Championships for the second consecutive year.

Having successfully completed the individual event, Oh Sang-uk and Do Kyung-dong will compete in the men's sabre team event on the 22nd, aiming for a shared gold medal.

Meanwhile, in the women's foil individual event held on the same day, Mo Byeol of Incheon Jung-gu District finished in seventh place, the best result among Korean female fencers.

Oh Sang-uk, who had previously dominated both individual and team events at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics, now aims to win a double crown at the upcoming August 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

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*This content was translated by AI.