- South Korea’s Oh Sang-uk secured his nation’s first medal at the Paris Olympics
- Oh Sang-uk comfortably won the gold medal match with a score of 15-11, maintaining the lead throughout
- His gracious act of sportsmanship towards his Tunisian opponent has gone viral online
South Korean fencing sensation Oh Sang-uk is trending for a heartwarming display of sportsmanship during the men’s individual fencing sabre final at the Paris Olympics.
Oh claimed victory in the match, defeating his Tunisian rival Ferjani Fares with a final score of 15-11 at the Grand Palais in Paris.
However, it was not his skill with the sabre that captured everyone’s attention but rather his impressive sportsmanship shown to his opponent.
Facing intense pressure, the Tunisian struggled at match point when, at 14-8, he stumbled and fell backward.
Rather than taking advantage of his opponent’s misfortune to claim gold, Oh offered Fares a hand, helping him to his feet – an act of pure sportsmanship.
Oh Sang-uk’s moment of sportsmanship helped his opponent back to his feet instead of capitalizing on the situation.
Ferjani Fares made a commendable comeback from the fall, managing to tighten the score to 14-11 before Oh secured the win.
Oh Sang-uk ultimately triumphed in the men’s individual fencing sabre, finishing with a score of 15-11.
Oh Sang-uk’s victory marked South Korea’s inaugural gold medal of the 2024 Olympics.
From a difficult position of 14-5, Ferjani made an impressive comeback to 14-11 despite the earlier stumble.
In the end, however, Oh Sang-uk demonstrated his dominance and clinched the gold medal with a final score of 15-11 amidst the iconic backdrop of the Grand Palais.
Now a three-time world champion, Oh added his first individual Olympic title to his accolades, having previously secured team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Both fencers began evenly matched at 3-3 before Oh took control of the bout.
Although it initially seemed Oh had clinched the gold with a score of 15-6, his celebrations were cut short as a video review continued the match.
Fares’s incredible comeback attempt brought the score to 14-11 after being in a challenging position, but Oh maintained his composure to secure the victory.
In his victory, Oh celebrated with enthusiasm, performing the splits.
‘I just followed my coach’s instructions and it worked well,’ said the 27-year-old after his win.
Oh Sang-uk celebrated his gold-winning moment with an impressive acrobatic split.
He remarked, ‘There wasn’t any specific challenge; it was mostly about timing. As you age, the pursuit of medals becomes more challenging.’
After earning the silver, Ferjani shared: ‘I started the gold-medal match strongly, but he was simply better at every critical moment. He [Oh] was direct and executed a risky strategy that paid off in the first ten points… I’m thrilled with my silver medal.’
Earlier on Saturday evening, Italy’s Luigi Samele won the bronze medal with a 15-12 victory over Egypt’s Ziad Elsissy.
