Fencing Osanguk Korea's First Gold... Individual Event Grand Slam [Paris Olympics]

Ace of the men's sabre fencing team, Oh Sang-wook, secured the first gold medal for the South Korean delegation at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ranked 4th in the world, Oh Sang-wook defeated Tunisia's Pares Ferjani, ranked 14th globally, 15-11 in the men's sabre individual final held on the 27th (local time) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

On the 27th (local time), Osanguk roared after defeating Pares Ferzani (Tunisia) 14-11 in the men's sabre final at the 2024 Paris Olympic fencing event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.
Photo by Yonhap News

By winning the Olympic gold medal, Oh Sang-wook became the first Korean fencer to achieve the individual event Grand Slam. The Grand Slam means winning individual gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games, and Asian Championships. Oh had previously won gold at the 2019 World Championships, gold at the 2019 and this year's Asian Championships, and gold at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games. With the individual gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he completed the final piece of the Grand Slam puzzle.

Oh Sang-wook had already achieved the Grand Slam in team events in 2020. In team competitions, he has won one Olympic gold medal, four World Championship gold medals, two Asian Games gold medals, and six Asian Championship gold medals.

Oh had faced Ferjani three times in total, trailing with one win and two losses. He also lost 7-15 at the Grand Prix event in January this year.

However, in the final on this day, he dominated his opponent and secured an easy victory.

Oh Sang-wook successfully took the initiative early with aggressive attacks. He scored two consecutive points right at the start of the match. Although he conceded two points in a row to allow a tie when leading 3-1, he immediately scored two consecutive points to prevent losing the lead. Leading 5-4, he scored three consecutive points to finish the first period with a four-point lead.

In the second period, Oh again scored three consecutive points right at the start to seize control. Leading 11-4, he conceded one point but quickly scored three more points to reach match point. Although ambiguous referee decisions led to six consecutive points against him when leading 14-5, he ultimately secured the gold medal by scoring a decisive final point.

Having achieved the best possible result in the individual event, Oh Sang-wook will challenge for a double crown in the team event on the 31st. The men's sabre fencing team aims for their third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the team competition.