Korean fencer Oh Sang-uk reclaims Asian Championships title with borrowed gear
Olympic champion Oh Sang-uk reclaimed the Asian Championships title in India despite Korea's fencing team being unable to retrieve their equipment amid June 3 local election protests.
Korean fencing champion Oh Sang-uk, center, holds up his gold metal after winning the men's individual sabre title at the Asian Fencing Championships in New Delhi, India, on June 19.KOREAN FENCING FEDERATION
Korean Olympic fencing champion Oh Sang-uk regained the men's individual sabre title at the Asian Fencing Championships in India on Friday, capturing gold at the event for the first time in two years despite competing with borrowed gear.
Oh of the Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall defeated China's Luo Xiaotong 15-8 in the final at the Asian Fencing Championships 2026 in New Delhi, India. The victory marked Oh's return to gold at the event after last winning the title in 2024 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
The reigning Olympic champion and double gold medalist from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games has maintained his momentum ahead of his Asian Games title defense in Japan’s Aichi and Nagoya in September.
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Oh opened his campaign with a 15-11 victory over India's Karan Singh in the round of 32 and cruised past Uzbekistan's Islombek Abdurazakov 15-6 in the round of 16. He then defeated Japan's Mao Kokubo 15-12 in the quarterfinals before beating defending champion Do Gyeong-dong of Daegu Metropolitan City Hall 15-9 in an all-Korean semifinal.
Do fell short of defending his title but secured a bronze medal, earning his second consecutive individual medal at the Asian Championships.
The medal comes despite Korea's national fencing team traveling to India for the Asian Fencing Championships with borrowed gear after protesters blocked access to their equipment stored inside the Korean Fencing Federation office in the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul.
South Korean Olympic fencing champion Oh Sang-uk, left, departs from Incheon International Airport on June 16 to compete in the Asian Fencing Championships in New Delhi in India on borrowed gear as the Korean national team was unable to retrieve their equipment due to June 3 local election protests.YONHAP
The federation has seen its operations disrupted by the blockade linked to protests over the ballot shortage fiasco during Korea’s June 3 local elections, paralyzing its administrative functions.
As a result, the national team was unable to retrieve their equipment kept at the federation office, forcing athletes to borrow gear from their clubs and fellow fencers.
"Personal and newly purchased equipment are stored at the venue, but access was blocked, so the athletes had to secure equipment themselves," said Won Woo-young, the men's national fencing team coach.
The federation is also struggling to prepare for upcoming international events. Following the Asian Championships, the World Championships are scheduled for July and the Asian Games for September, but administrative work and international fund transfers have reportedly been disrupted. Preparations for overseas training camps ahead of the World Championships have also been affected.
Despite the difficulties, the Korean national team delivered strong performances. Korean Fencing Federation President Choi Shin-won, who also serves as a vice president of the Fencing Confederation of Asia, traveled to India to encourage the athletes.
Oh and Do are set to compete in the men's sabre team tournament again on Monday as Korea seeks another gold medal.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
