'Now we have two gold medals!' Oh Sang-wook defeated Arpa and advanced to the semifinals
Jul 27, 2024
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Oh Sang-wook defeated Canada's Fareth Arpa 15-13 in the quarterfinals of the men's sabre individual fencing at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Grand Palais in Paris, France on the 27th (Korea time). World No. 4 Oh Sang-wook is trying to win the gold medal in this competition. Oh Sang-wook, who unfortunately knelt in the quarterfinals at the last Tokyo Games, where he was ranked No. 1 in the world, was desperate and prepared for the past three years. Oh Sang-wook, who won two gold medals at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, will achieve the dignity of the individual Grand Slam if he wins the gold medal at this tournament. Oh has previously won the World Championships, Asian Championships, and Asian Games. It was also the first Olympic gold medal in the men's sabre individual event.
Originally, Oh Sang-wook's opponent in the quarterfinals was likely to be Aaron Silage (Hungary), who won three consecutive gold medals. However, Silage failed to reach the round of 16, losing 8-15 to Canada's Fares Arpa in the round of 32. Silage, who was born in 1990 and is six years older than Oh Sang-wook, is the strongest in the event, winning three consecutive Olympic individual gold medals, including London in 2012, Rio in 2016, and Tokyo in 2012. He is currently ranked fifth in the world, but he aimed for his fourth consecutive Olympic victory with his rich experience.
Oh Sang-wook, who avoided Silaji, pushed Arpa hard from the beginning. They led 4–1. Later, he allowed a tie, but he took the lead again with a sharp attack. 8-5 to finish the first period. In the second period, despite the opponent's strong resistance, he steadily accumulated points and maintained the difference. Midway through, Arfa gave it a 12-12 tie. But Oh did not falter. They scored consecutive offensives to go 14-12 and secured the victory with the final attack.
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In the round of 32, he defeated Evangiro (Niger) 15 to 8 to advance to the round of 16. Oh Sang-wook, who led 5-0 with an attack using his unique length from the beginning of the 32nd round against Jiro, finished the game easily after an overwhelming game that led 8-2 when he finished the first period.
Oh Sang-eun will compete with Italy's Luigi Samelle, who beat Egypt's Mohamed Amer to advance to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, other Sabres players were eliminated early on. Park Sang-won (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall) fell to his knees in the quarterfinals unfortunately. Park Sang-won, who competed in his first Olympics, defeated 18-year-old U.S. divinity Colin Heathcock 15-10 in the round of 32 to advance to the round of 16. China's Shen Chenfeng was once in the lead with a triumphant game, but he couldn't get past the end. He finished his first individual Olympic Games with a 11–15 defeat.
Koo Bon-gil turned away from the last Olympic individual event after losing 8-15 to Fares Perjani of Tunisia in the round of 32. Koo Bon-gil previously competed in the Olympics for the fourth time in a row since the 2012 London Games.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
