Olympics-Fencing-Hungary's Szilagyi makes saber semi-finals as S.Korea's top-ranked Oh goes out
CHIBA, July 24 (Reuters) - Hungarian defending champion Aron Szilagyi cruised to the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic men's individual saber event on Saturday as South Korean fencer Oh Sang-uk, ranked no. 1 in the world, was knocked out in the quarter-finals.
If he wins, Szilagyi, 31, would make history by becoming the first ever man to win three gold medals in an individual fencing discipline.
Currently ranked fourth in the world rankings, he will be facing Ali Pakdaman from Iran in the semi-finals.
Szilagy's form has been good in the tournament so far, disposing of opponents quickly, as he did in his quarter-final versus Iranian Mojtaba Abedini.
Meanwhile Oh, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in March, faded in his quarter-final against Georgian Sandro Bazadze, eventually losing 15-13.
"I feel like my physical strength has weakened, but every time I think about that, I feel my confidence slipping, so I try really hard to control my mind," Oh told Reuters, speaking before his quarter-final.
Although he had to pause the bout at times to have doctors attend to his right ankle, he didn't seek to blame his loss on physical issues, saying he had no regrets and had simply been outplayed.
In the women's epee individual competition, top-ranked Romanian Ana Maria Popescu made her way steadily to the semi-finals, leaving her on track to claim another Olympic medal.
Popescu won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the team epee event, and a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. If she takes top place in Tokyo, she will make history by becoming the oldest gold medallist ever in women's epee individual fencing at 36. (Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Karishma Singh and Kenneth Maxwell)
