According to the South Korean newspaper 'Chosun Daily' on September 27, in the men's epee team event final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, the South Korean team achieved a dramatic comeback, narrowly winning against Japan with a score of 45:44. This is the fourth time in a row that the South Korea team has won the team championship at the Asian Games.
According to the introduction, the men's sword fencing team event uses a relay system. The team with the highest cumulative score at the end of each round wins. After eight rounds, the Japanese team, playing at home, took the lead with a score of 44:41 by continuously scoring points. They were just one point away from winning the gold medal.
The South Korean team sent the double Olympic champion from Paris and the individual gold medalist of this Asian Games, Oh Sang-uk, as the last speler. Facing immense psychological pressure, Oh Sang-uk showed great determination, steadily catching up until reaching a tie of 44:44.
In the final sword that determined life and death, Wu Shangxu and Japanese competitor Kobe Masayuki nearly simultaneously thrust their swords and hit their targets. Due to the extremely fast pace of fencing, both parties thought they had completed their attacks and celebrated wildly—Kobe rushed towards his teammates, while Wu Shangxu knelt down on both knees.
After reviewing the VAR replays repeatedly, the referee ruled that Wu Shangxu's aggressive attack was prior to the shot. As a result, the South Korean team miraculously won the championship with a score of 45:44.
What's more interesting is that Korean media have noted that the person who was happiest during this dramatic turn of events was Huang Xijian, a substitute player born in 2003. Although he did not play, due to this gold medal, Huang Xijian, currently serving as a first-class soldier in the army, has "left the military in the same state"!
After the match, Huang Xijian couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m still a first-class soldier, but I’m truly happy. This is the happiest day of my life this year. I was originally supposed to leave the army on September 2nd next year, but now it’s been moved up by a year—it’s simply wonderful.” He gave his teammate a thumbs-up and bowed repeatedly. “To my proud teammates… thank you very much.”
During the award ceremony, there was also a funny moment that entertained everyone: usually, when awarding prizes, the winning team would walk up to the highest podium hand in hand. But on that day, the South Korean team let Hwang Hee-jung climb the podium alone, allowing this youngest brother to “own” that moment of glory.
Captain Wu Shangxu laughed after the match and explained, “While preparing to award the medal, we were thinking, ‘Who does this gold medal mean the most to someone, and who will be the happiest?’” The answer was clearly Huang Xijian.
South Korean media joked that, as Wu Shangxu said, this gold medal is more urgent for Huang Xijian than anything else. He also smiled brighter than anyone else as he stood on the podium.
After the game, Huang Xijian also expressed his admiration for his teammates. He said that his next goal is to set an example by emulating senior players like Wu Shangxu, who have a strong spirit. He hopes to be a key player at the Los Angeles Olympics two years from now and fight alongside his brothers.
He also joked that he hopes to become a “military service broker” for his younger colleagues, just like Wu Shangxu. “If I have the opportunity, I definitely will do it.”
