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S. Korean Park Sang-young wins gold in epee fencing

August 9, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) — South Korean fencer Park Sang-young won gold in the men’s individual epee at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday, powered by a furious comeback that erased a late deficit.

Park defeated Geza Imre of Hungary 15-14 in the thrilling final at Carioca Arena 3 for South Korea’s first fencing medal in Rio.

Down 14-10 with under three minutes remaining, Park reeled off five unanswered points to complete the unlikely comeback and give South Korea its third gold medal here.

South Korean fencer Park Sang-young celebrates his victory over Geza Imre of Hungary in the final of the men's individual epee at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 9, 2016.

South Korean fencer Park Sang-young celebrates his victory over Geza Imre of Hungary in the final of the men’s individual epee at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 9, 2016.

“I wasn’t even thinking about trying to win a gold medal,” he said. “Since this is the festival for everyone, I wanted to enjoy myself. When will I ever compete at an Olympics again? I didn’t want to have any regrets, and I think it showed.”

Park, ranked 21st, has never lost to the third-ranked Imre in three meetings.

Park is just the second South Korean man to win an individual Olympic gold, after Kim Young-ho won the fencing title at the 2000 Sydney Games.

The fencers started out trading points, and with the score 9-9 midway through the second period, Imre — the reigning world champion at age 41 — scored four consecutive points.

Park got one back before Imre answered, making it a 14-10 bout.

Standing on the brink of defeat, Park reached deep and pulled out every trick in his bag. It was only a matter of seconds before the seemingly insurmountable deficit evaporated. With the clock ticking down on the match, Park got his 15th point for the improbable victory.