Iran’s Pakdaman grabs Asian saber gold; Rahbari bags bronze
The first day of the Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China, saw the Iranians steal the show in the men’s saber event.
Ali Pakdaman won a first gold medal at the competitions for Iran in 22 years, while Mohammad Rahbari settled for a joint bronze alongside Hong Kong’s Low Ho Tin.
Pakdaman saved multiple match points to beat decorated South Korean Kim Jun-ho – a world bronze medalist in 2018 and a team gold winner at the Tokyo Olympics – 15-14 to take his illustrious record at the Asian Championships to 13 medals.
A clean sweep of six victories in the group phase had secured a place for Pakdaman in the knockout round, where he came out on top against opponents from India, Hong Kong, and Kuwait to progress to the quarterfinals.
The world No. 16, who had won an Asian individual silver in Wuxi seven years ago, defeated Japan’s Kento Yoshida 15-13 before a 15-10 triumph over Tin saw him advance to the final showpiece.
Meanwhile, Rahbari marched into the knockouts thanks to five successive wins and then defeated fencers from Uzbekistan and Jordan before a 15-11 win against Mohammad Fotouhi in an all-Iranian battle sent him into the quarterfinals.
A double team silver medalist in the Asian Games, Rahbari eased past Uzbekistan’s Musa Aymuratov 15-4 but his campaign came to an end with a 15-12 defeat against Kim.
Elsewhere in the competitions, Hong Kong’s Vivian Kong came out victorious (15-4) against Song Se-ra of South Korea – a world champion in 2022 – for the women’s individual épée gold, with the host’s Lin Sheng and South Korean Choi In-jeong sharing the third podium.
This year’s Asian Championships serve as a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.