Korean fencer Park Sang-young won silver in the men's individual épée at the Asian Games in Indonesia on Sunday. He lost the final 15-12 to Dmitriy Alexanin of Kazakhstan in a brave display after going down with injuries to both his legs.
When he was trailing 4-1, Park requested a medical timeout for an apparent pain in his right knee. The reigning Olympic champion hoped to repeat the dramatic comeback that won him an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but a five-minute medical timeout was not enough for the world No. 3 to recover.
Park was visibly in pain from early in the game, and the audience cheered him on, shouting, "It's okay!" or "Don't overdo it." But through sheer determination, Park fought back to 12-10, when his left knee -- on which Park had surgery in 2015 -- failed him. He refused to give up, however, dragging his feet and continuing to fight. He took the score to 13-12, but was unable to turn it around in the end.
Alexanin captured gold with a final score of 15-12, but Park's maturity and dogged determination moved the audience both in and outside of the stadium.
Jung Jin-sun, who was aiming to defend his Asian Games title in épée, lost to Alexanin in the semifinal and eventually won the bronze medal.
Kim Ji-yeon, who became the first Korean woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the individual sabre at the 2012 London Olympics, picked up the bronze in the individual event.
