The Korean men's foil and women's epee teams won the team competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Korean fencers won five gold medals over the four days of competition. It's also one of the best performances in the history of the Asian Games.
Heo Jun and other members of the Korean fencing team celebrate after clinching the gold medal in the men's foil team final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at Dianzu University Gymnasium on Sept. 27, 2018 in Hangzhou, China.
The men's foil team of Heo Jun (35), Ha Tae-gyu (34), Lee Kwang-hyun (30) and Lim Chul-woo (30) won their second consecutive gold medal at the Games. The team defeated China 45-38 in the final of the team event at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Nov. 27. It was their second consecutive title after winning in Jakarta and Palembang in 2018. Korean fencing won its 50th gold medal at the Asian Games.
South Korea trailed 20-25 going into the fifth period. It was Heo Jun, the team's most experienced fencer and ace, who started the comeback. In the sixth period, He scored six straight points against China's Wu Bing (25) to take a 26-25 lead. The game remained close, and the seventh period ended in a 33-33 tie. In the eighth period, Lee Kwang-hyun stepped to the piste to make it 40-36. South Korea never relinquished the lead. It was Heo Jun who scored the game-winning goal in the 45th minute.
Heo Jun of South Korea performs an attack during the men's team fencing flechette final match between South Korea and China at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 at the Hangzhou University of Electronic Arts Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 27, 2018.
After the match, Heo Jun said, "It's my last match and I'm so happy to take first place. It's unbelievable," He said, adding, "I'm finishing (my career) with two consecutive Asian Games titles. I think I'm going to cry." He announced his retirement from the sport after the Asian Games.
The men's foil team won gold in the team event, making up for a disappointing individual performance three days earlier. South Korea did not win a medal in the men's individual foil event on Thursday. It was the first time in 45 years since the 1978 Bangkok Games that Korean men's fencing had not medaled in the individual foil event at an Asian Games.
South Korea's women's epee athletes, including Song Sera, celebrate after winning the gold medal in the women's epee team final during the fencing event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at Dianzhi University Gymnasium on Sept. 27, 2018 in Hangzhou, China.
South Korea also won gold in the women's epee team event. The team of Kang Young-mi (38), Choi In-jung (33), Song Sera (30) and Lee Hye-in (28) won the final against Hong Kong, 36-34. In the final nine periods, Song Se-ra came from behind to pull within one point, 35-34, with 6.8 seconds left in regulation, and then scored the game-winning basket with 3.3 seconds left to seal the deal in dramatic fashion.
After finishing as runners-up in the last two editions, the women's team returned to the top of the podium for the first time in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Games. It was a happy ending for individual gold medalist Choi In-jung, who announced her retirement from the national team after the Games.
As of the 27th, South Korea has collected five gold, two silver, and one bronze medal in fencing alone. That's more than half of the country's eight gold medals so far. Fencing at the Asian Games has won a total of 12 gold medals since Busan in 2002, with Korea's best result ever (8 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze) coming in Incheon in 2014. The women's foil and men's sabre team events remain on Monday, and the women's sabre and men's epee team events on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in taekwondo, Park Woo-hyuk (Samsung S-ONE) won a gold medal. Park defeated Jordan's Salih Elsharabati 2-0 (8-5, 6-5) in the men's 80kg category. Elsharabati, a silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, was the favorite to win the tournament. It has been 21 years since South Korean taekwondo has won a gold medal in this weight class (78 kg until Doha 2006) since the 2002 Busan Games, when it was omitted. "I'm very happy to have taken a step towards making Korean taekwondo highly regarded again on such a big stage," said Park Woo-hyuk after his victory, adding, "I still haven't qualified for next year's Paris Olympics. I will work hard to prepare for the remaining Grand Prix competitions so that I can compete in the Olympics." With the victory, South Korea won its fourth consecutive gold medal on the 24th day of taekwondo competition at the Games, bringing its total to five gold medals (two in Poomsae and three in Kukkiwon). 스포츠토토맨