Park Sang-young won a surprising gold medal in fencing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday, earning Team Korea's third gold on the fourth day of the Games.
The 20-year-old, who is ranked 21st in the world, defeated World No. 3 Geza Imre of Hungary by 15-14 in the individual epee final at Carioca Arena 3. It was a more stunning loss for his opponent as Park rallied from a seemingly irreversible score of 14-10.
South Korean archers continued their quest for gold, as Lee Seung-yun and Chang Hye-jin progressed into the Round of 16 in the men’s and women’s individual events, respectively.
South Korean shooter Kim Jang-mi aimed to defend her title in the women’s 25-meter pistol, but failed to make it into the eight-player final by finishing ninth in the qualification rounds with a total score of 582 points. Kim’s colleague Hwang Seong-eun finished at 18th with 577 points.
Judoka Lee Seung-su crashed out of the Round of 16 in the men’s 81-kilogram event, losing to Bulgaria’s Ivaylo Ivanov by waza-ari or a half point.
In swimming, Park Tae-hwan failed to recover his form and finished 32nd in the men’s 100-meter freestyle preliminary. The Beijing Olympic gold medalist earlier failed to advance to the final in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter freestyle and will have a last shot at a medal in the 15-hundred-meter freestyle.
In the women’s swimming, Ahn Se-hyeon advanced to the semifinal in the 200-meter butterfly event.
South Korea jumped to sixth place in the medal standings as of the end of Tuesday, with three gold, two silver and one bronze.