Fencing Oh Sang-uk delivers! Men's sabre individual doubles title... Korean athlete wins gold for fifth consecutive time [Tokoname]

*This content was translated by AI.

Oh Sang-uk (Daejeon Metropolitan City Office), the flagbearer of South Korean fencing, achieved back-to-back Asian Games titles.

Oh Sang-uk (world ranking No. 3) defeated China's Xian Tianfeng (No. 27) 15-13 in the men's sabre individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games held on the 23rd at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, securing the top spot on the podium.

Having reached the Asian Games final for the third consecutive time after the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (Indonesia) and 2022 Hangzhou (China) editions, Oh Sang-uk firmly retained his championship position from Hangzhou once again.

Oh Sang-uk suffered an ankle injury early in the match when his opponent stepped on his right foot, raising concerns about his condition after receiving extended treatment. Fortunately, he recovered quickly after being treated at the venue and returned to competition. With the score tied 1-1, Oh scored three consecutive points to seize early momentum.

However, Xian Tianfeng did not yield easily, and Oh engaged in a fierce battle. After successfully reversing the score to 8-7 and finishing the first period, Oh faced a crisis as he was pushed back to 8-11 due to his opponent's counterattack in the second period.

Oh Sang-uk responded with bold attacks, scoring three consecutive points to tie the match at 11-11 before raising both hands in celebration. After conceding two more points in a row, he scored again twice to force a 13-13 draw.

With momentum on his side, Oh Sang-uk executed sharp attacks to finally take the lead. In the subsequent scoring sequence, after video review confirmed the final point, he sealed the match victory. Following the win, Oh held the South Korean flag while posing for commemorative photos, basking in the joy of championship triumph.

Doh Kyung-dong (Daegu Metropolitan City Office), ranked world No. 2 and competing alongside Oh in this tournament, was eliminated in the quarterfinals, leaving him with regret. The streak of Korean athletes facing each other in the men's sabre individual final — featuring Koo Bon-kil and Kim Jung-hwan at the 2014 Incheon Games, Koo Bon-kil and Oh Sang-uk at the 2018 edition, and Oh Sang-uk and Koo Bon-kil in Hangzhou — came to an end with this tournament. Instead, South Korea's historic five consecutive Asian Games gold medals in men's sabre individual events continued, built on Koo Bon-kil's three-peat starting from the 2010 Guangzhou (China) Games and Oh Sang-uk's back-to-back titles.

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*This content was translated by AI.