PARIS — South Korea earned a silver medal in the women's sabre fencing team event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, following a dramatic final against Ukraine at the Grand Palais.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean team, ranked fourth in the world, was bested by the third-ranked Ukrainian team with a final score of 45-42. The South Korean quartet, consisting of Jeon Eun-hye, Jeon Ha-young, Choi Se-bin, and alternate Yoon Ji-su, aimed to capture the country's first gold in this event, following a bronze medal performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The match unfolded with South Korea maintaining a lead throughout, entering the final bout ahead 40-37. However, Ukraine's Olga Kharlan, a bronze medalist in the individual event earlier in the week, overcame a three-point deficit by outscoring Jeon Ha-young 8-2, securing the gold for her team.
Team fencing competitions involve a series of nine head-to-head bouts, each potentially ending when a team's cumulative score reaches a multiple of five, or after three minutes. The objective is to either reach 45 points first or to have the highest score at the conclusion of the ninth bout.
The match saw early fluctuations, with Jeon Eun-hye initially losing to Kharlan but Jeon Ha-young later regaining the lead for South Korea. Despite extending their lead mid-match, Kharlan's strong performance in the sixth bout brought Ukraine back into contention.
Yoon Ji-su, the most experienced member at 31, expressed pride in winning South Korea's first silver in this event. "I came here feeling a lot of pressure to carry the team as the most senior member, but my teammates shared that burden with me," Yoon remarked.
Jeon Ha-young, at 22, the youngest of the team, reflected on the outcome. "I am happy with this silver but at the same time, I am disappointed that I didn't get the job done in the end," she said, expressing hope for a better result in future Olympics.
The semifinal earlier in the day saw South Korea achieve a surprising 45-36 victory over the top-ranked French team, which included individual gold and silver medalists Manon Apithy-Brunet and Sara Balzer. This victory was highlighted as a significant achievement for the relatively young South Korean team.
Choi Se-bin, aged 23, commented on their performance against France, "I thought we were the only team that could beat France here. And it felt great to get past them at a major competition like this. As we keep building experience, we should have a chance to win gold four years later."
South Korea's performance in fencing at the Paris Olympics concluded with this event, having previously won gold medals in both the men's sabre individual and team events.