Canadian men's sabre team falls to top-ranked South Korea in fencing quarterfinals

Canada's Fares Arfa, right, and Hungary's Aron Szilagyi compete in the men's individual sabre round in Paris on July 27, 2024, (Andrew Medichini / AP)

PARIS — Canada's men's sabre team fell 45-33 in quarterfinal action to top-ranked South Korea at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

Fares Arfa of Laval, Que. was bested by Oh Sang-uk in the first relay, with four touches to his opponent's five.

The pair had earlier squared off in the quarterfinals of the men's individual sabre tournament, where Arfa was defeated by Oh, the eventual gold medallist.

Arfa took the fourth relay in the team event, with seven touches to five by South Korea's Gu Bongil, and tied 5-5 in the eighth relay against Park Sangwon.

Canadian Shaul Gordon won two of his three relays, including a 6-5 win over Oh.

Canada, featuring bronze medallist Eleanor Harvey of Hamilton, is considered a medal threat in the women's team foil competition that gets underway Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2024.