Ah! '19:10→42:43' Men's Epee, Failed to Hold a 9-Point Lead, Suffered Heartbreaking Defeat Against Kazakhstan... Missed Gold Medal for the First Time in 12 Years [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The gold medal in the epee event at the Asian Games, which had been within reach for the first time in 12 years, slipped away by a single point at the final moment. The Korean men's national epee fencing team, which once took control of the match with a lead as large as nine points, could not withstand Kazakhstan's fierce comeback and suffered a heartbreaking reversal defeat.

The Korean team, composed of Jang Hyo-min, Park Sang-young (both from Ulsan City Hall), Nam Yeon-ho (from Korea National Sport University), and Kwon Oh-min (from the Republic of Korea Army), lost to Kazakhstan 42-43 in the men's epee team final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 27th.

The Korean men's epee team displayed its dominance as Asia's strongest by winning three consecutive gold medals in the team event at the 2006 Doha, 2010 Guangzhou, and 2014 Incheon Games. However, they settled for bronze medals consecutively at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games. Aiming to reclaim the top spot for the first time in 12 years at this tournament, they reached the final but could not overcome the last hurdle, settling for a silver medal.

The path to the final was nothing but a series of tight matches. Korea defeated its rival China in the quarterfinals and the host nation Japan in the semifinals, both in dramatic sudden-death contests.

Having reached the final through dramatic means, Korea started the final match with perfect momentum. The first fencer, Park Sang-young, finished the initial exchange at 3-3, after which Jang Hyo-min, who took the second relay, scored three points and conceded only one to take a 6-4 lead. Then, Nam Yeon-ho engaged in a fierce battle with Kazakhstan's Vadim Sheralaimov, widening the gap to 12-9. The tide turned decisively in Korea's favor during the fourth relay. Park Sang-young, returning to the piste, recorded a 7-1 run with sharp consecutive thrusts, instantly pushing the score to 19-10 and extending the lead to nine points.

However, Kazakhstan launched a fierce counterattack from the middle of the match onward. As Korean players' stamina gradually waned due to repeated sudden-death victories, Kazakhstan began its relentless pursuit.

Korea maintained a six-point lead at 35-29 through the seventh relay, but trouble struck during the eighth relay. Park Sang-young allowed consecutive points against Sheralaimov, narrowing the score to 36-34, just two points apart. Even Jang Hyo-min, who competed in the final ninth relay, could not block Kirill Prokhodov's attacks and conceded consecutive points, eventually surrendering a tied score of 37-37. Afterward, the two fencers exchanged simultaneous hits three more times, engaging in a tense battle, but Jang Hyo-min committed a painful error with only 12 seconds remaining in regulation time, resulting in a 42-42 tie as the nine-minute regular period ended.

The match once again headed toward a sudden-death overtime where a single point would determine the medal color. Although Korea had won two sudden-death matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals, the goddess of victory smiled upon Kazakhstan in the final. Jang Hyo-min boldly launched an attack first but was struck by a counterattack from his opponent, causing him to lose the match, which ultimately ended with a 42-43 defeat. The Taegeuk warriors, who failed to hold their nine-point lead, could only swallow their tears of regret in the end.

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*This content was translated by AI.