Women's fencing team Silver
“If Jeon Eun-hye participates, the chances of winning are higher” Yoon Ji-soo gives up her spot ahead of the semifinals against France, defeats the host country France, and advances to the finals for the first time ever Lost to Ukraine in the finals, but gained experience “I will grow further in 4 years and win the Olympic gold medal”
Korean fencing women's sabre team members Jeon Ha-young, Choi Se-bin, Yoon Ji-soo, and Jeon Eun-hye (from left) are giving a thumbs up after finishing the team event at the Paris Olympics on the 4th with the best ever silver medal. For the other three, except Yoon Ji-soo, this was their first Olympic stage.
“If you become a ‘dol-ai,’ you can do it.”
Choi Se-bin (24), the South Korean women’s sabre team fencing representative, said this to her teammates on the 4th ahead of the Paris Olympics team event final against Ukraine. With the exception of ‘oldest sister’ Yoon Ji-soo (31), who was a bronze medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, all of the South Korean women’s sabre team members, Choi Se-bin, Jeon Eun-hye (27), and Jeon Ha-young (23), were participating in their
first Olympics at this competition. Park Sang-won (24), who helped the South Korean men’s sabre team win three consecutive Olympic team gold medals in this competition, which was also their Olympic debut, cheered on Choi Se-bin, who is the same age as him, saying, “Se-bin, now you just have to go up there and spin (go crazy). If you do that, you can really do women’s sabre, too.” If the women’s team had also won, South Korea could have made history by taking gold medals in the men’s and women’s sabre team events from the same country for the first time in Olympic fencing history.
The 'Olympic rookie trio', which was inspired by the men's sabre team, were unstoppable. They were ahead of the opposing team Ukraine 40-37 when they started the last 9 rounds of the finals. However, Jeon Ha-young, who had been the 'closer' throughout the team event and given Korea victory, gave up a 42-45 comeback to the opposing team's 'ace' Olga Harlan (34), and Korea had to settle for a silver medal. The silver medal is also the best record ever achieved by the Korean women's sabre team in the Olympic team event. Choi Se-bin, who won the silver medal, smiled and said, "It seems like we've all won." What
makes this silver medal even more encouraging is that the Korean women's sabre team is undergoing a generational change. The Korean women's sabre team won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago, but only Yoon Ji-soo, who was the 'youngest' member of the team at the time, participated in this competition as the 'eldest member.' However, Yoon Ji-soo voluntarily withdrew from the game because she thought that Jeon Eun-hye, who was a substitute, had a higher chance of advancing to the finals than herself, who had been exposed to the international stage. Yoon Ji-soo, who withdrew from the semifinals, could not participate in the finals due to the rule that a player who has been substituted once cannot participate in the subsequent games.
Jeon Eun-hye, who made her Olympic debut as a substitute for captain Yoon Ji-soo in the semifinals, played an equal match against the French players, a fencing powerhouse who received one-sided support from their home fans, and contributed to the first Olympic team finals in Korean women's sabre history. Jeon Eun-hye said, "I was really grateful that my sister said, 'It would be good for you to participate.' Doesn't that mean that she believes in me? I think she won a silver medal this time in order to win a gold medal at the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics in the United States four years later."
Jeon Ha-young, who allowed a comeback in the final round, also smiled brightly. Jeon Ha-young said, "I was greatly outdone by veteran Olga in terms of boldness and composure. Still, it was a match that made me think, 'I can do it too.' “I will grow further and win the gold medal in four years,” he said. The Ukrainian team, which defeated Korea, brought the first gold medal of this competition to the country under invasion by Russia. 안전놀이터