Men's sabre team take gold at Fencing World Cup

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Published: 18 Jan. 2022, 16:39 Updated: 18 Jan. 2022, 17:47

Men's sabre team take gold at Fencing World Cup

Kim Jun-ho, right, competes with Matyas Szabo of Germany during the men's team sabre final match between Korea and Germany at the Fencing World Cup 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

After returning from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in style, the Korean men's sabre team took gold at the Fencing World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday. The women's team also took silver, proving Team Korea is still on top of their game.

Olympic gold medalists Gu Bon-gil, Kim Jun-ho, Kim Jung-hwan and Oh Sang-uk defeated Germany 45-38 on Monday in the final to win their first gold medal of the season.

En route to the final, Korea played a more difficult semifinal against Russia. Korea earned their seat in the final round by just one point, defeating Russia 45-44. Silver medalists Germany beat Italy 45-43 in the semifinal to reach the final.

From left to right, Oh Sang-uk, Gu Bon-gil, Kim Jun-ho and Kim Jung-hwan pose after winning the men's team sabre final match between Korea and Germany at the Fencing World Cup 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

With the World Cup gold medal, the Korean men’s sabre team held on to the No. 1 spot in the world. On the individual standings, Oh is the second-highest ranked fencer in the world, followed by No. 3 Kim Jung-hwan, No. 11 Gu and No. 18 Kim Jun-ho.

The 37-year-old three-time Olympian Kim Jung-hwan once again became the only Korean fencer to take two medals home at the World Cup. Kim Jun-hwan also took two medals at the Tokyo Olympics, winning the men’s individual sabre bronze medal and the team gold medal.

Kim Jung-hwan also won the World Cup bronze medal on Sunday, becoming the only Korean fencer to bring home an individual medal as Oh took fifth place, Gu 10th place and Kim Jun-ho 11th place.

The women’s sabre team who took the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games — Choi Soo-yeon, Kim Ji-yeon, Yoon Ji-su and Seo Ji-yeon — won the team silver medal on Monday in Tbilisi. En route to the finals, No. 4 Korea defeated No. 1 Russia 45-39, but took a close defeat to No. 3 and Tokyo Games silver medalists France 45-44, missing out on the top spot on the podium by one point.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]