South Korea and China, who earned a 5-5 share of golds in the
10-gold fencing competition at 1998 Bangkok Asiad, dominated the
pistes in Busan again, which saw six for hosts South Korea, five
for China and one for Kazakhstan.
South Korea claimed the titles of women's individual saber, men's
individual and team saber, women's individual and team epee and
women's team foil, while China collected the golds of men's
individual and team foil, men's individual epee, women's individual
foil and women's team saber. Kazakhstan collected the championship
of men's team epee.
The veterans from both China and South Korea played a key role in
the fights, which indicates that experience and mental strength are
still main factors in the fencing duels. Wang Haibin, 29, clinched
the men's individual foil title, the first gold of the Busan Asian
Games, for China and shone in the team fights, leading his team to
first place.
Wang, the gold medalist of men's individual in 1998 Bangkok Asiad
and the key member of the Chinese team which finished second in the
Sydney Olympics, retired in 2001 and went to Nanjing University of
China to learn French, the official language of fencing
competitions.
"The university study did extremely good to me. It has improved my
way of thinking in both fencing and life," Wang, who restepped on
pistes in July 2002, said after his duels in Busan.
"The most important factor in fencing is not how fast or how strong
you are. The most needed thing is timing. You should take the right
move at proper time," said Wang, who has been practicing foil since
the age of 12.
"To reach such a level, you have to not only practice more, but
also attend high-level competitions as many as possible and often
think about the mistakes you made again and again," he added.
Zhao Gang, 31, who clinched the men's individual epee gold in Busan
for China, is also a veteran who has been a coach for China's
Liaoning provincial team but returned to the Chinese national team
this year as a fencer this year.
Kim Young-ho, 32, who became a hero of South Korea after picking
the first-ever individual foil Olympic gold in Sydney, gave stable
performance in his team's fights in Busan. If his archrival Wang
Haibin did not appear, Kim would repeat his glory before the home
crowds.
Hyun Hee, who took the women's individual epee gold for South Korea
at the Lisbon World Fencing Championships in August, played
extremely well in Busan, beating almost all the Chinese young
talents she met in the individual and team events.
On
the contrary, the young Chinese fencers obviously exposed their
weak points of unstable form in Busan. Tan Xue, the definitely ace
saber lady who grabbed the first-ever individual world champion for
China in Lisbon, conceded her Asiad individual gold to South Korean
Lee Shin-mi who stormed back from behind to beat Tan in the
semifinals.
"I
couldn't control myself when something unfavorable to me happened
in that duel," Tan, 18, admitted after the match. "I have to
accumulate experience in more tough competitions."
The Chinese women's epee team which is hopeful to get both the
individual and team golds in Busan conceded the two to South
Koreans in the end, which is beyond the expectation of all.
"All the four young talents are under the age of 21 and they often
became quick-tempered in their duels with the experienced South
Koreans who are extremely good at defense and counterattacks,"
Chinese epee coach Wang Hengman admitted after seeing the team
silver and individual for his girls.
Chinese fencing team manager Cai Jiadong said, "Although South
Korea beat us 6-5 on the gold fight, it may turn into a good thing
as our young athletes who will become key members for the 2004
and2008 Olympiads see their weak points."
"South Korea has sent some fencers to Europe, the cradle of
fencing, for training and competitions, which nurtured a group of
world-class athletes, such as Kim Young-ho and Hyun Hee. We also
learned a lot from Europe in recent years. So, there is no gap in
fencing skills between the Chinese and South Korean fencers. But
the duels in Busan told us that our young athletes are still lack
of experience and fighting spirits especially at crucial moments."
he noted.
South Korean saber man Kim Doo-hong, who hurt his left leg in the
eight-set team final against China, fought to the end to keep his
team's lead. Kim was held by his teammates to the clinic after the
duel where everybody saw that the leg was bleeding.
Kim's spirit encouraged his teammates and moved the spectators
greatly. "I hope our young fencers will learn a lot from the duels
in Busan," he said.
( October 6, 2002)