(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea wins silver in women's epee team fencing at Asian Games
(ATTN: ADDS comments in paras 11-14, new photos)
By Kim Boram
TOKONAME, Japan, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea won the silver medal in the women's epee team fencing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, failing to defend its Asiad title.
The quartet of Song Se-ra, Lim Tae-hee, Yang Seung-hye and Lee Hye-in lost to China 45-28 in the gold medal match at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan.
South Korea won the event at the previous Hangzhou Asian Games but finished runner-up at the 2026 Games.
Song, who won the individual epee title on Tuesday, took the silver in the team event.
Bronze medals went to Singapore and Kazakhstan.
South Korean fencers pose for a photo during the medal ceremony after winning silver in the women's epee team final against China in fencing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 25, 2026. (Yonhap)
Team fencing events are contested in nine head-to-head bouts. Each bout is three minutes long, but it ends when one team's score reaches a multiple of five.
A team scoring 45 points first or having more points than the opponent at the end of the ninth bout wins the event.
In the epee event, fencers use a thrusting weapon, targeting the entire body.
South Korea won the first two bouts to build a narrow 7-6 lead.
However, China pushed back and took a 15-13 lead in the third bout, and maintained the lead until the ninth bout.
Song said they made many mistakes out of nerves against the Chinese fencers, whom they have met so many times in the Asian and world competitions.
"We've fought against Chinese athletes so many times, and we are well aware of their techniques and timings, but we let them thrust us," she said. "I wanted to win gold with my teammates but failed. I think I've still got a long way to go."
However, the crushing gave her fresh motivation to work harder for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"It was a one-sided defeat, and that gave us a lot of homework. We'll work harder and win against China again," Song said. "I'll keep learning and making an effort."
In the men's foil team event, meanwhile, South Korean fencers of Youn Jeong-hyun, Lee Kwang-hyun, Kim Tae-hwan and Im Cheol-woo won the bronze medal, losing to Hong Kong 45-41 in the men's foil team semifinals.
South Korea had won the foil team title at the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games.
South Korean fencers pose for a photo after winning the bronze medal in the men's foil team fencing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 25, 2026. (Yonhap)
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