South Korean fencers have secured two bronze medals in the women’s individual epee event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
Song Sera defeated China’s Sun Yiwen 14-12 in the quarterfinals of the event at the Hangzhou Electronics University Gymnasium on Thursday.
Song Sera battled with Sun Yiwen in the third round, which started 6-6.
Sun Yiwen scored two consecutive points to take the lead, and Song Sera pulled one back to make the score 8-9.
At this point, Sun Yiwen suddenly checked her equipment with 1:16 left to play, causing a delay, but there was no protest from the Korean team.
In the meantime, the Chinese home crowd was chanting “Zhiyao (fighting), Sun Yiwen”.
The mood could have spilled over, but Song Sera managed to tie the score at 9-9 when play resumed and then pulled Sun Yiwen to her side before swooping in to take a 10-9 lead.
With 26 seconds left, Song extended her lead to two points, which she maintained until the end of the match.
With the victory, Song took home a medal in her first ever Asian Games.
At the Asian Games, fencing does not have separate third and fourth place finals, but instead a joint bronze medal is awarded for a loss in the quarterfinals.
Choi’s teammate, In Jung Choi, also competed in the individual event and secured the bronze medal with a 15-7 victory over Pyschova Uliyana (Kazakhstan) in the quarterfinals.
Choi, who won back-to-back bronze medals in Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018, is determined to change the color of her medal this time around.
If Song Sera and Choi In-jung defeat their respective opponents in the semifinals, the Taegeuk Warriors will meet in the final and Korea will secure the gold and silver medals in women’s epee. 스포츠토토