South Korean women's fencing sabre standout Yoon Ji-su, 31, who won individual gold at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games and silver in the team event at this year's Paris Olympics, has announced her retirement from the sport.
“I have finished my 18-year career and my last match as a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” Yoon announced on her personal social media account on Saturday, the day after the fencing schedule for the 105th National Games ended.
“My official retirement will be in January next year, but I will probably not have any more competitions on the piste as a fencer,” said Yoon, who was part of the Seoul team that won the silver medal in the women's general sabre team event alongside Jeon Ha-young, Hong Ha-eun (Seoul Metropolitan Government) and Lee Joo-eun (Korea Gymnastics University).
The daughter of Yoon Hak-gil, a former “ace” of the Lotte Giants in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), Yoon Ji-soo has been a mainstay of the Korean women's sabre team since 2010.
She competed in Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2021, 카지노사이트 and this year's Olympic Games in Paris, where she helped Korea's women's sabre team to its first-ever Olympic team medal (bronze) in Tokyo, and in Paris, as the eldest member of the squad, she helped the team reach its first team final and win a silver medal.
A member of back-to-back team gold medals at the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, she also won individual gold at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games last year.
He has also won one silver and three bronze team medals at the World Championships and topped the individual podium at the Asian Championships in 2012 and 2019.
After reaching the team final and winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, where the 2000s generation led the way, Yoon said, “I think this is the last time I will compete in the Olympics,” but just two months later, it was announced that she would retire from the sport altogether.
“I was very happy and thrilled to be a Korean fencer, and I am very grateful to all the fans who have traveled a long way to support me, and to everyone who has supported Korean fencing day and night,” Yoon said.
“I am now preparing for my new journey little by little,” he added.
As for his future plans, he said, “I think it will be to meet and teach the up-and-coming fencers who will make Korean fencing shine brighter than me.” “I will think about it hard and make it, so I would be very grateful if you could watch it,” he said.
South Korea's women's sabre is in the midst of a generational change, with 2012 London Olympics individual gold medalist Kim Ji-yeon, 36, hanging up her taegeuk last year, and Yoon Ji-su also announcing her retirement.
“Please support our juniors who will shine even brighter in the future,” Yoon added.