South Korea’s men’s fencing sabre team member Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan Government) shared his thoughts on his victory after winning a family feud and claiming gold.
Oh won the men’s sabre individual final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games with a 15-7 victory over Koo Bon-gil at the Dianzu University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, on Friday.
Oh, who lost to Koo in the individual final at the Jakarta-Palembang Games five years ago to settle for a silver medal, met Koo again in the final of this year’s tournament and won his first career Asian Games gold medal.
While all the spotlight was on Goo Bon-gil, who was attempting to become the first Korean to win four consecutive individual titles, Oh Sang-wook was also a strong contender for the individual title.
Oh has won gold medals at numerous international events, including the World Championships, Asian Championships, Universiade, Grand Prix, and World Cup. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he won gold in the team event.
His only regret was that he didn’t win an individual gold medal at the Asian Games, but he finally filled that void in his career.
“When I saw the draw for the final, I didn’t think about Koo Bon-gil’s four consecutive losses, but I was nervous because I had lost before, but fortunately, I played well in the second half,” Oh said at the post-match press conference.
“Meeting the Korean in the final was a relief. I didn’t feel like I was trying to avenge my loss five years ago, I just wanted to win this one match.”
Oh suffered a major injury last December that landed him on the operating table. It took him a long time to rehabilitate and recover, but he rushed back into the game because he was worried he might be out for a long time, and his gold medal proved he was right.
“I had little time to recover from a 토토사이트 major injury, but I gained a lot of confidence from the people around me who kept saying, ‘You’re doing well,’ and I was able to play every game with confidence,” Oh said.
“When you win a medal in a team event, you feel like the team did it, but I think the individual event was a good opportunity to measure my fighting power. I was nervous, but I am honored to have won the gold medal.”
After winning the individual event, Oh will compete in the team event on the 28th to try to win a second title.