Nagoya:Tokoname: South Korea’s Park Ji-hee secured a silver medal in the women’s foil individual event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park faced a tough final against Japan’s Yuka Ueno, losing 15-4 at the Aichi Sky Expo. The venue is located approximately 35 kilometers south of Nagoya, the main host city.
This marks Park’s first appearance at the Asian Games, where she managed to reach the podium. Bronze medals in the event were awarded to Polina Volobueva of Uzbekistan and Maxine Jie Xin Wong of Singapore.
During the final, Park was unable to score in the first period, trailing 8-0 to Ueno. Her first point came midway through the second period when she was behind 12-1. Despite scoring three additional points, Park could not overcome the deficit.
Park’s achievement makes her the first South Korean fencer in eight years to reach the Asian Games final in the women’s individual foil, a feat last accomplished by Jeon Hee-sook in 2018.
Looking ahead, Park will participate in the team event scheduled for Saturday, aiming for South Korea’s first gold medal in the sport since the 2014 Asian Games. She expressed determination to strengthen the women’s foil team, stating, “The women’s foil is a bit less strong compared with the men’s sabre and the women’s epee. Based on today’s result, I’ll do my best in the team event and help the women’s foil make its presence felt.”