Olympics-Fencing-South Korea faces Italy in men's sabre team final
CHIBA, Japan, July 28 (Reuters) - Top-ranking South Korea will face Italy in the finals of the men's sabre team event on Wednesday after beating Germany in their semi-final, hoping to maintain the throne they claimed in the 2012 London Olympics.
With individual bronze medalist Kim Jung-Hwan and world championship winner Oh Sang-Uk in their ranks, the South Korean team built a slim lead and didn't let the Germans overtake them, winning the match at 45-42.
Italy will face them across the piste for the fight to win the gold medal after triumphing over world number two ranked Hungary in the semifinals.
Hungary has won 10 gold medals in the event so far and has Aron Szilagyi, who won a record third gold medal in the individual sabre competition on Saturday, in their team.
But it was Italy's Luca Curatoli, who scored the last winning point in the quarterfinals after being tied, gaining two points against Szilagyi to win 45-43 and securing a medal for his team.
His team mates piled on top of him in excitement when the match was called, while Szilagyi stood on the piste looking stunned.
"(The South Korean team) are four guys who are very, very strong, but we are not going to be afraid about this, we just have to show our fencing and trust in ourselves and push, push, push," Italy's Enrico Berre said after the match.
The 2016 Rio Olympics did not hold the men's sabre team event due to a rotation system where one team event from the men's and women's disciplines is not held.
Tokyo 2020 is the first Olympics where all 12 events are being held. (Reporting by Sakura Murakami Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Lincoln Feast.)
