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| Korean women's sabre fencing team members react during their sabre team event at the International Fencing Federation World Championships in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday. They won silver medal after losing to Italy in the finals. / Yonhap |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Following the men's sabre fencing team's gold medal win on Tuesday, the Korean women's sabre team picked up its first silver at the International Fencing Federation World Championships in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday.
The quartet of Kim Ji-yeon, Hwang Seon-a, Seo Ji-yeon and Yoon Ji-su advanced to the finals after defeating the Japanese team 45-32 in the semifinals but remained second after losing to Italy 45-42. France took bronze after beating Japan 45-39.
Although it was a second for the Koreans, it was meaningful because it was the country's first medal-winning team performance at the world championships. Korea has had two bronze medals in the women's sabre individual at the fencing worlds -- Kim Hye-lim in 2006 and Kim Ji-yeon in 2013.
The Korean female team cruised to the finals to face Italy. The Koreans defeated China 45-27 in the round of 16 and beat the United States 45-41 in the quarterfinals to meet Japan in the semis.
The Korean men's epee team was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to Estonia 39-38.
The sabre is one of the three weapons of modern fencing, along with the epee and the foil. Using a light sword, athletes can earn points by cutting and thrusting. While athletes use a light sword in the sabre and the foil, the epee is a heavy sword. In team competitions, the first to 45 points, or the highest points total after all nine periods, wins.
