3rd straight gold at stake in fencing, taekwondo
Korean sabre fencers Oh Sang-uk, right, and Gu Bon-gil hold up their gold and silver medals from the men's individual competition at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Dianzi University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 25. Yonhap
Korea will look to pull off a "three-peat" in fencing and taekwondo at the 19th Asian Games in China on Thursday.
In fencing, the men's sabre team of Kim Jung-hwan, Gu Bon-gil, Kim Jun-ho and Oh Sang-uk will be going for the country's third straight gold. The quartet won the 2018 gold medal together, while Kim Jung-hwan and Gu were also on the 2014 gold medal squad.
Oh defeated Gu for the individual gold in Hangzhou on Monday night.
Korean fencers Oh Sang-uk, right, and Gu Bon-gil approach each other after the final of the men's individual sabre at Hangzhou Dianzi University Gymnasium during the 19th Asian Games, Sept. 25. Yonhap
A team gold would give Gu six career Asian Games gold medals, tying him with five others for most by a Korean athlete.
Lee Da-bin will compete in the women's +67kg division in taekwondo, on the final day of competition for the Korean martial art.
Lee won the 2014 Asiad gold in the -62kg class and then moved up to +67kg for 2018 to win another gold medal there.
Lee Da-bin of Korea, left, competes in the final of the mixed gender team taekwondo event against China at the Asian Games at Lin'an Sports Culture & Exhibition Centre in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 25. Yonhap
No female taekwondo practitioner has won three Asian Games gold medals in a row. Lee missed out on her third gold Monday night, when she won silver in the inaugural mixed gender team event.
Elsewhere Thursday, the men's and women's golf competitions will tee off. The Korean men's team, featuring professionals for the first time, is led by a pair of PGA Tour veterans: Im Sung-jae, the 2018-2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and Kim Si-woo, a five-time tour champion and the youngest winner of the Players Championship. (Yonhap)