Women's Sabre Fencing, Team's First Match Defeats USA... Semifinal Clash with France [Paris Olympics]

Semifinal Advancement
Opponent is France, Currently Ranked No. 1 in the World and Silver Medalist at the Tokyo Games

The South Korean women's sabre fencing team advanced to the semifinals by defeating the United States in their first match of the 2024 Paris Olympic team event.

Composed of Yoon Ji-su, Jeon Ha-young (both from Seoul Metropolitan Government), Choi Se-bin (Jeonnam Provincial Office), and Jeon Eun-hye (Incheon Metropolitan City Jung-gu Office), the South Korean women's sabre team defeated the United States 45-35 in the quarterfinals held on the 3rd at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

Choi Saebin (left) competing against Magda Skarbinkievich from the United States

Their next opponent is France, currently ranked number one in the team world rankings and the silver medalist team from the Tokyo Games. The women's sabre team semifinal will take place at 10:20 PM Korea Standard Time on the same day.

Choi Se-bin, who caused an upset by defeating world number one Misaki Emura (Japan) in the individual sabre event of this tournament, secured a commanding victory in the second round while trailing 4-5, conceding only one point to Elizabeth Tartakovsky and achieving a 10-6 comeback to take control.

In the third round, Yoon Ji-su faced Tatiana Nazlimova and extended South Korea's lead to 15-8. Although Choi Se-bin struggled early in the fourth round against 18-year-old Magda Skabonecki from the United States, conceding five consecutive points, South Korea maintained a 20-15 lead.

Then, in the fifth round, Jeon Ha-young unleashed a lightning-fast attack against Nazlimova, scoring five consecutive points in less than 10 seconds, pushing the score to 25-15. In the seventh round, the United States attempted a comeback by substituting Maia Chamberlin for Nazlimova, but it was not enough to change the outcome.

So far, South Korea has won two gold medals in fencing, with Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall) winning the men's sabre individual event and the men's sabre team also securing the championship.