Veteran fencer trying to lean on mental toughness in historic pursuit at Asiad
South Korean fencer Gu Bon-gil has won so many medals over his illustrious career that he doesn't know where he has put them all.
The 34-year-old may want to get them organized soon, though, because he could add to his collection this fall at the Asian Games.
Gu will try to win his fourth consecutive Asiad gold medal in the men's sabre individual event in Hangzhou, China. If he can also win the team title, Gu will have seven career Asian Games gold medals, more than any other South Korean athlete.
Currently, three athletes share the record with six gold medals apiece: swimmer Park Tae-hwan, fencer Nam Hyun-hee and bowler Ryu Seo-yeon.
Gu is chasing another piece of South Korean sports history, as he aims to become the first to win four straight gold medals in a single event at the Asian Games.
"No one has done it, and I want to be the first to do it," Gu said Thursday before an open training session at the National Training Center in the central county of Jincheon. "I can make some history there, and an opportunity like this doesn't come to everyone. I want to do the best I can to set those records."
Gu won his first individual gold in 2010, when he was an up-and-coming 21-year-old. He admitted that, physically, he isn't close to being the same fencer that he had been back then.
"I just have to be mentally tough to get through this, and approach it like my last Asian Games," Gu said. "That approach can help me realize my dream."
The South Korean men's sabre team has been nothing short of dominant in recent years, winning four of the past five world titles and Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2021.
Gu, who has been a part of all of those medals, said the greatest strength for South Korea is team cohesion and chemistry.
"You may see some fencers who are strong individually but don't do as well in team settings," Gu said. "We have a really tight bunch here. As good as we are as individual fencers, we tend to be even better when we compete as a team."
As for his medals, Gu said he might have left some of them at his parents' house in the southeastern city of Daegu. When he gets closer to retirement, Gu plans to build a proper mantelpiece for his collection.
"I want to pick out only the biggest medals and put them on display for my son to see when he grows up," Gu said of his five-month-old boy. "I don't know exactly where those medals are but I am pretty sure I haven't lost them."
Gu said fatherhood has changed his mindset on the piste.
"When I won my first Asian Games gold, I was still single. Now I am a father of a baby boy," Gu said. "Now that I have a family, I want to be a proud husband and a proud father."
Source: Yonhap News Agency