Asian Fencing Championships:
Iran settles for saber team silver
Iran grabbed the men’s team saber medal at the Asian Fencing Championships in Kuwait.
The Iranian trio of Mohammad Rahbari, Farzad Baher, and Ali Pakdaman defeated India and Kazakhstan for a place in Tuesday’s final showdown but fell to a 45-26 loss to fencing powerhouse South Korea.
Rahbari got Iran off to a winning start, beating Park Sangwon 5-4 in the first of the nine clashes in the final.
However, Oh Sanguk and Gu Bongil – members of the gold-winning team in the Tokyo Olympics – came out on top against Baher (6-3) and Pakdaman (5-4) respectively and the South Korean side never looked back, claiming five more wins – with Rahbari and Gu sharing the spoils – for a second men’s saber gold in Kuwait – following Oh’s individual triumph.
Iranian Rahbari, meanwhile, took his personal haul at this year’s competitions to two medals, having won the individual joint bronze – alongside the host’s Yousef Alshamlan – after a 15-5 setback against Oh in the semifinals.