CAIRO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Oh Sang-uk claimed the saber individual gold medal at the Men's Saber Individual and Team World Cup in Cairo on Saturday, after defeating Colin Heathcock of the United States 15-8 in the final.
Oh dominated the final from beginning to end, opening a wide 8-2 lead midway through the bout before maintaining control to seal the title.
Oh said he had trained hard for the Cairo World Cup and that the gold medal was especially valuable because it helped him regain confidence after a difficult period without medals.
"It has been a long time since I won a medal, and I think I had lost a lot of confidence during that period," Oh told Xinhua after the final. "I believe that trusting myself led to this good result."
The South Korean had earlier produced a strong comeback in the semifinal against Georgia's Sandro Bazadze. Despite suffering pain after an injury scare in the opening seconds of the bout, Oh recovered quickly and went on to beat Bazadze 15-8 to reach the final.
"At that moment, it hurt a lot, but it was not a serious injury," Oh said. "I don't think it caused any problem for me in refocusing on the match."
Heathcock reached the final after beating Germany's Frederic Kindler 15-8 in the other semifinal, overturning a 8-6 deficit at the break with nine straight points. Bazadze and Kindler shared the bronze medals after reaching the last four.
The Men's Saber Individual and Team World Cup 2026 is being held at the indoor halls complex of Cairo International Stadium from May 22 to 24, with 231 fencers from 40 countries and regions taking part.
The competition will conclude on Sunday with the team event. ■
