NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Oh Sang-uk defended his men's individual sabre title at the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, rallying to defeat China's Shen Chenpeng 15-13 in the final.
Oh, the reigning Olympic champion, trailed 13-11 late in the bout after Shen recovered from an early 4-1 deficit. However, the South Korean scored four consecutive points to complete the comeback and secured the gold.
Shen took silver, while Kazakhstan's Artyom Sarkissyan and Iran's Seyed Ali Esmaeilzadeh Pakdaman shared bronze. No third-place bout was held under the competition format.
Oh admitted that the final had been tougher than expected.
"Before the match, I thought it would not be so difficult to handle, but today I really had a tough fight against the Chinese fencer," he said, adding that the overall standard of Asian fencing was continuing to improve.
Shen said he had approached the final as an opportunity to learn from the Olympic champion but acknowledged that his eagerness to win had affected his composure after taking a 13-11 lead.
"I think I showed the form I have in training today. Taking the silver medal is also a proof of my regular training, and I'm very excited," Shen said. ■
