Five years had passed, the venue had changed, but the faces at either end of the final piste remained the same. Two of South Korea’s best swordsmen met again in the final of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, and this time the younger brother beat the older brother who lost by one point in the final five years ago. Oh Sang-wook, 27, defeated Koo Bon-gil, 34, to win his first individual Asian Games gold medal in the men’s fencing sabre at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Oh defeated Koo 15-7 in the final of the event at the Hangzhou University of Electronic Science and Technology Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, on Friday. He avenged a 14-15 loss at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
Oh Sang-wook scored the first two points. Koo Bon-gil immediately equalized. 8-7, Oh Sang-wook’s one-point lead, and the first round ended.
After five years, Oh Sang-wook showed off his skills and pushed Koo Bon-gil hard. In the second round, Oh Sang-wook did not drop a single point and won 7 points. The match ended with a dominant victory by Oh Sang-wook, as if the fierce battle of five years ago had been forgotten.
Koo Bon-gil smiled and approached Oh Sang-wook. His dreams of becoming the first Korean fencer to win four consecutive individual Asian Games titles had come to an end, and his goal of becoming the most decorated fencer in history by sweeping the individual and team titles had been dashed, but there was no sign of regret. Koo patted Oh on the shoulder and smiled.
After the game, Oh Sang-wook looked at Koo Bon-gil as they stood next to each other in the mix zone and said, “I just won my first individual gold medal, and it’s crazy to think that you’ve lost three in a row.” “I’m honored to have won four in a row,” said Koo, who responded, “I’m more excited than disappointed.”
Five years ago, Koo Bon-gil was in tears after winning the individual gold medal. It was hard for him to think about his junior, who was exempted from military service.
This time, Oh Sang-wook’s thoughts were just as complicated. His close senior was on the verge of a record-breaking fourth consecutive victory, but just like Koo Bon-gil five years ago, this year’s Oh Sang-wook had no “other thoughts” on the piste, and their battle shone through.
Korea continued to cruise in its traditional medal field on 토토사이트 the day. In taekwondo, Jang Jun, 23, won gold in the men’s 58-kilogram final with a 2-0 victory over Iran’s Mahdi Hajimosaeinapoti.
In shooting, North and South Korea came from behind to win gold. The South Korean team of Jung Jeong-jin, Ha Kwang-chul and Kwak Yong-bin scored 1,668 points in the men’s 10-meter running target team event. A late slump by North Korea tied the score with South Korea, and the fate of the two teams was determined by the number of “inside tens” that hit the center of the 10-meter mark. South Korea, with 39, won the gold medal by a wide margin over North Korea (29).