'Top Ranker Born in 2001' Jeon Ha-young (24, Seoul City Hall, world No. 2) won the first gold medal in the women's sabre at the SK Telecom Grand Prix.
The Korean women's sabre team, Ha Yong-young, won the final of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) SK Telecom Fencing Grand Prix held at SK Handball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 4th, beating Jungmi Kim (25, Ansan City Hall, 97th in the world) by 15-13.
In SKT Grand Prix, where the sport has changed from foil to sabre since 2015, Kim Jung-hwan in 2017, Oh Sang-wook won gold medals in 2019, and 2023, but the women's sabre did not have gold medals. The silver medals of Seo Ji-yeon in 2016 and Kim Ji-yeon in 2019 were the best. Jeon Ha-young won her first gold medal ever. It is the first time that two Korean players have reached the podium together and advanced to the finals side by side. Jeon Ha-young and Jungmi Kim wrote the history of going to the finals together for the first time in history. The South Korean women's sabre team, led by coach Lee Kuk-hyun, made a great new history on a spring day at the home piste.
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| Chong Ha-young and Kim Jungmi Kim, who reached the semifinals side by side in the SK Telecom Fencing Grand Prix |
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After winning a team silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year as the world's second-ranked and top-ranked player, Jeon Ha-young won the gold medal in the individual competition at the Orlé-Engrande Free and the Algerian World Cup in November last year. He continued his relentless golden momentum at home.In the round of 16, he beat Alina Komasishuk of Ukraine (27th in the world), who gave up the gold medal in the team event at the Paris Olympics, 15-10 in the round of 16, beat Italian ace Michela Batiston 15-8 in the quarterfinals, and advanced to the final with a 15-10 victory over Sarah Nucha (France), who never gave up the lead.
Above all, the highlight of the day was the reversal of the battle between Jungmi Kim, who was ranked 97th in the world. He beat world No. 1 Misaki Emura of Japan 15-13 in the round of 16 and became the main character of a major upset to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he beat Japan's Ozaki Seri 15-8 to advance to the semifinals and reach his first podium with two consecutive wins against Korea and Japan. Even in the semifinal, she had no intention of stopping. 'World No. 3' beat Bulgaria's Joana Ilieva 15-11 to seal the final.
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| Jincheon National Training Center President Kim Taek-soo, SKT Grand Prix Finalist, gold and silver medalists Ha Young and Jungmi Kim are shouting fighting together. |
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In the first ever SKT Grand Prix final, Jeon Ha-young and Jungmi Kim competed with gold and silver medals. Kim Taek-soo, head of Jincheon National Training Center, who watched their match from the round of 16, met the two players ahead of the final and played a great game. Congratulations. "I'm proud," he encouraged, "It's a final between the same team, so please play a really great game while supporting each other."
As Chief Kim asked, the final was a great match. He engaged in a hot and unyielding battle. Jungmi Kim took the lead by cutting three times in a row, but Ha-young chased 3-3. At 4-4, Jungmi Kim took the lead with three points, but Jeon Ha-young balanced 7-7 and 8-8 again. However, bloodshed ensued. As Jeon Ha-young led by two points, Jungmi Kim chased two points, overturned the game again with 11-10 and widened the gap to 12-10 with a wrist cut. When Jeon Ha-young chased 12-11, Jungmi Kim showed a willingness to win, demanding a video review. 12-12, another tense battle ensued. Jeon Ha-young cut two points to lead 14-12, but Jungmi Kim also did not give up until the last minute. Chased to 14-13. Jeon Ha-young turned on the blue light for her last 15th and first-ever championship. The two athletes, who won gold and silver medals together, posed together and smiled. The place where seniors such as Kim Ji-yeon, the gold medal in the individual event at the London Olympics, and Yoon Ji-soo, who collaborated for the silver medal in the team event at the Paris Olympics, left, and the young juniors who inherited their fighting spirit proved their stormy growth on their home turf.
Meanwhile, the men's team failed to reach the podium this year following last year. In the quarterfinals, Oh Sang-wook stopped after being hit by Sandro Bajaje (Georgia) in the old world. In 2003, Hwang Hee-geun (Korea National University) beat Park Sang-won (Daejeon City Hall), ranked fifth in the world, to advance to the quarterfinals in the round of 16 match, but lost 13-15 to Hungary's Christian Raab, narrowly missing his first podium.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
