Team defeats Singapore 45-35 in semifinals

Final set for 7:20 p.m.; win would mean consecutive gold medals

Individual champion Song Se-ra chases second gold of the Games

Im Tae-hee of South Korea competes against Singapore's Esther Tan in the women's épée team semifinal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]
Im Tae-hee of South Korea competes against Singapore's Esther Tan in the women's épée team semifinal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's women's épée fencing team has advanced to the team event final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. A victory in the final would give the team consecutive gold medals at the Games.

The squad — Song Se-ra (Busan Metropolitan City Hall), Im Tae-hee (Gyeryong City Hall), Lee Hye-in (Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall) and Yang Seung-hye (Korea National Sport University) — defeated Singapore 45-35 in the team semifinal Friday at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The team opened the day with a dominant 45-20 win over Mongolia in the round of 16, then edged host nation Japan 45-40 in a tight quarterfinal to secure a medal. Against Singapore in the semifinals, South Korea seized control from the opening exchanges and never relinquished the lead, booking a place in the final with ease.

The women's épée team last claimed team gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games — held in 2023 — ending a 21-year drought. A win in the final, scheduled for 7:20 p.m., would make it two consecutive titles.

Meanwhile, ace Song Se-ra, who won the individual gold on Tuesday, is chasing a second gold at these Games in the team event. If the world No. 1-ranked team wins the final, Song will become the first South Korean athlete at this year's Games to win two gold medals.


won@heraldcorp.com