"I'd rather have a gold medal than a double," says Oh, who got an early birthday present

It was business as usual for Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Government), who got an early birthday present of two gold medals.

"There's nothing better than winning two gold medals," he said after sharing the title with Koo Bon-gil, Kim Jung-hwan (Korea National Sports Promotion Organization) and Kim Jun-ho (Hwaseong City Hall) in the men's sabre team event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Electronics University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, on Aug. 28. I think it means more to win the gold medal in the team event because we communicated with each other differently than in the individual event."

He won his second gold medal of the tournament after winning his first individual gold medal at the Asian Games in the individual event on Aug. 25, when he faced off against senior national teammate Koo Bon-gil in the final.

It was a special birthday present for the athlete, who turns 27 in two days.

"There's nothing special about it, it's just a gold medal," Oh said, adding, "I wanted to win this gold medal because Bon Gil tied my brother's record for the most gold medals in Korea, so I'm glad it turned out well."

The individual title further cemented Oh's status as the ace of the "world's strongest" Korean men's sabre team, but he faltered in the first round of the team final, falling 4-5 to China's Lin Xiao.

However, he opened up a double-digit lead with a 25-15 win over China's Yan Yinghui in the fifth round, and then closed out the match with a 45-33 victory over China's Sun Tianfeng in the final nine rounds.

"I told myself not to pay attention to the Chinese crowd, but I couldn't help but use it," Oh said, adding, "My teammates were shouting at me from behind, so I was able to find strength and composure and make it easy."

The men's sabre team, ranked No. 1 in the world in the team event, had a brief scare at the World Championships in July this year when their five-game winning streak was snapped to defend their Asian Games title. The squad is set to remain on top of the world until the Paris Olympics in less than a year.

"After my streak was broken, I actually practiced with a lower stance. If I continue to stick to the basics and practice in a lower position, I can expect good results in Paris," he emphasized.

"I approached this tournament with the mindset of competing as if I had been training and practicing, and I will continue to do so until Paris," he added. 슬롯