South Korea has picked up gold and bronze medals in the men's individual sabre at the ongoing fencing world championships in China.
Kim Jung-hwan defeated Eli Dershwitz of the United States 15-11 in the final at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi on Sunday.
Fellow South Korean Kim Jun-ho took home bronze after losing to Dershwitz in the semifinals.
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Kim Jung-hwan celebrates his 15-11 victory over Eli Dershwitz of the United States in the final at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi on Sunday. (Yonhap) |
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Kim Jung-hwan at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi on Sunday. (Yonhap) |
Kim Jung-hwan, an Olympic team champion in 2012 and individual bronze medalist in 2016, had never won an individual world title before. He was a member of the championship team last year in Leipzig, Germany, and had also won team silver in 2014 and team bronze in 2013.
Kim is also the first South Korean fencer in any discipline to win an individual world title since Won Woo-young grabbed the men's sabre championship in 2010.
The two Kims' showing in the individual event bodes well for South Korea's chances of defending its team sabre title later in the tournament.
They will also look to win their second straight Asian Games gold medal next month in Indonesia.
In the women's individual epee, the one other event to be contested Sunday, Choi In-jeong was the only South Korean to make it as far as the round of 16, where she fell to Coraline Vitalis of France 15-14. (Yonhap)
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