Song Sera on Sept. 22 celebrates with her arms spread wide after winning the women's epee individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

By Hong Angie

Photos = Yonhap News

In fencing’s epee discipline, where the entire body is considered a target, being 164 cm tall is a critical disadvantage. Yet for Song Sera (33), nothing was impossible on the piste.

As the veteran leader and ace of the Korean women's epee team, Song clinched gold on Sept. 22 by defeating Kiria Tikanah (Singapore) 15–8 in the final held at Aichi Sky Expo in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

With swift footwork and clever tactical play, Song overcame her physical disadvantage. She dramatically won both the quarterfinals and semifinals in neck-and-neck matches decided by a single point.

She finally stood atop the podium in her second attempt at the individual event, following a silver-medal performance at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Ban Hyojin (middle) and Park Hajun on Sept. 22 aim at their targets during the final of the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games shooting competition at the Aichi Prefecture Shooting Range in Japan.

On the same day, Korean ace shooters Ban Hyojin and Park Hajun partnered to win the silver medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event.

Ban and Park on Sept. 22 advanced to the final in third place after scoring 633.2 points in the preliminary round at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range in Japan. In the final -- where each athlete fires 15 shots followed by single-shot rounds to eliminate the lowest scorer -- they finished in second place with a combined score of 502.9 points.

This is the first time Team Korea has won a silver medal in the mixed team 10m air rifle event at the Asian Games.

With the two medals in fencing and shooting, Team Korea, as of Sept. 22, has won 27 medals -- six gold, four silver and 17 bronze -- to stay third overall behind China (31 gold) and Japan (11 gold).

shong9412@korea.kr