'Two steps from the final' fencer Song Se-ra, who defeated China's Tang Junyao 15-14 in the quarterfinals... Yoon Jung-hyun also secures bronze in men's foil [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

Song Se-ra (33, Busan Metropolitan City Government), a star of South Korean fencing, has moved two steps closer to securing the first gold medal in fencing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

On the 22nd, Song defeated China’s Tang Junyao 15-14 in a narrow victory during the women’s individual epee quarterfinals held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

In fencing, no bronze medal match is held; instead, all athletes who reach the semifinals are awarded bronze medals. Song has already secured her bronze medal and will now compete on the semifinal stage.

Ranked third in the world in women’s epee and highest among Asians, Song won all six of her preliminary matches to advance to the round of 16, where she defeated India’s Taniksha Katri to pass the first tournament hurdle.

The quarterfinals proved to be a critical challenge. Tang Junyao, ranked 10th, was no easy opponent. After a fierce back-and-forth battle that ended in a 14-14 tie, Song calmly exploited her opponent’s openings and roared in triumph.

Song, who won a silver medal in the team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has claimed three world championship titles and topped the World Cup standings this season, establishing herself as Asia’s strongest fencer. However, she had not succeeded at the Asian Games until now. Three years ago in Hangzhou, she captured gold in the team event but lost to her senior teammate Choi In-jeong in the individual final, settling for silver with lingering regret.

This time, she is determined to resolve that regret. In the semifinals, a South Korea-Japan match will take place as Song competes against Japan’s Tamaki Terayama for a spot in the final.

In men’s foil, Yoon Jung-hyun (25, Hwaseong Special City Government) secured a bronze medal. After decisively defeating Uzbekistan’s Danil Krafchuk 15-5 in the quarterfinals, Yoon will face Hong Kong’s Ryan Choi in the semifinals.

Lee Kwang-hyun, who competed alongside him, bowed his head after losing 7-15 to Japan’s Kazuki Iimura in the quarterfinals.

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*This content was translated by AI.