Trailing on the brink of defeat with just one point away from losing, Oh Sang-uk reeled off four unanswered points. The South Korean men's sabre fencing team edged out Japan 45-44 in a thrilling comeback to capture their fourth consecutive Asian Games team gold medal.

The team—consisting of Oh Sang-uk, Park Sang-won (both from Daejeon Metropolitan City Corporation), Do Kyung-dong (Daegu Metropolitan City Corporation), and Hwang Hee-keun (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps)—won the gold medal by a single point in the men's sabre team final at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 26th.

With this victory, South Korea has claimed the men's sabre team title for the fourth consecutive time, following the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023) editions. This gold medal marks the 15th gold for the South Korean delegation at the Games.

Having successfully defended his title in the individual event on the 23rd, Oh Sang-uk also teamed up to win gold in the team event, securing his second consecutive Asian Games double crown. His total number of Asian Games gold medals has increased to five, bringing him just one shy of Gu Bon-gil’s record of six, the most gold medals won by a South Korean athlete.

Seeded first, South Korea received a bye in the Round of 16. They defeated India 45-25 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the final by beating Hong Kong 45-24 in the semifinals.

South Korea started strong in the final against Japan. First runner Park Sang-won gained the early momentum against Mao Kokubo with a 5-3 lead, followed by Oh Sang-uk extending the gap against Kento Yoshida to 10-6. After the third round where Do Kyung-dong faced Hayato Tsubo, South Korea widened the gap to 15-8.

Although Park Sang-won struggled against Yoshida in the fourth round, South Korea maintained a 20-16 lead. In the fifth round, Do Kyung-dong fended off Kokubo's pursuit to make it 25-21, and Oh Sang-uk preserved a 30-26 advantage in the sixth round despite being chased by Tsubo.

However, the momentum shifted in the seventh round. Do Kyung-dong gave up six consecutive points to Yoshida, allowing a turnaround to 30-32, and South Korea entered the eighth round trailing 32-35.

Park Sang-won initiated a chase. Down 34-38 in the eighth round, he scored five straight points against Tsubo to retake the lead, but conceded a point at 39-39, leaving South Korea trailing by one point heading into the final ninth round.

The final runner was Oh Sang-uk. Facing Kokubo, Oh fell behind 41-44, putting him in a situation where allowing just one more point would end the match.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, Oh reeled off four consecutive points. Overturning the score from 41-44 to 45-44, he secured South Korea’s fourth consecutive Asian Games men's sabre team title.

In addition to their Olympic team gold medals at the 2012 London, 2020 Tokyo (held in 2021), and 2024 Paris Games, South Korea's men's sabre team has maintained its supremacy at the Asian Games for over a decade starting from 2014.

On this day, South Korean fencing added a men's sabre gold and a women's foil silver, bringing their tally at the current Games to 3 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes.

With only the men's épée and women's sabre team events remaining on the 27th, South Korea trails Japan (6 golds, 1 silver, 3 bronzes) by three gold medals, meaning they will be unable to maintain their streak of overall fencing supremacy that began at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

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