'World No. 1' Fencing 女 Women's Team Epee Suffers Shock Defeat; Asian Games Two-peat and Song Se-ra's Double Crown Both Thwarted [Tokoname On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 'World No. 1' ranked South Korean women's epee fencing team failed to secure back-to-back Asian Games titles. Song Se-ra (Busan Metropolitan City Government) also saw her double crown challenge fall short, while Yang Seung-hye (Korea National Sport University) and Im Tae-hee (Gyeryong City Government) were unable to claim their first-ever Asian Games gold medals.

South Korea, composed of Song Se-ra, Yang Seung-hye, Im Tae-hee, and Lee Hye-in (Ulsan Metropolitan City Government), suffered a heavy 28-45 defeat against China in the women's epee final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 25th at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, settling for the silver medal.

After challenging for a two-peat in the team event following their victory at the 2022 Hangzhou (China) Games held in 2023, South Korea failed to retain its Asian Games supremacy with this loss. Song Se-ra, who had already claimed individual gold, saw her double crown bid fail. The first gold medal hopes of Yang Seung-hye and Im Tae-hee, who had drawn significant attention for their striking appearances prior to the tournament, were also postponed.

On this day, South Korea defeated Mongolia 45-20 in the round of 16 and then beat Japan 45-40 in the quarterfinals to secure a bronze medal. They continued their momentum as World No. 1 by defeating Singapore 45-35 in the semifinals (semifinal) to advance to the final.

The final against China was nothing short of fiery. In rounds 1 and 2, Song Se-ra and Yang Seung-hye recorded scores of 3-2 and 4-4 respectively, with neither side reaching five points before the round ended. Im Tae-hee, competing in round 3, engaged in an intense back-and-forth battle against Tang Junyao, trading leads multiple times.

Entering round 5 trailing 15-18, South Korea sent out Song Se-ra, but she was overwhelmed by Tang Junyao, widening the gap. Although Im Tae-hee and Lee Hye-in subsequently took their turns in an attempt to turn the tide, they could not find a solution against China's game management.

Ultimately, South Korea entered the final round 9 trailing heavily at 27-40 but failed to change the momentum, eventually bowing to China with heads bowed.

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*This content was translated by AI.