Pan rebuilt her cushion and reached the match point at 14-8. Jeon scored two hits in a row before Pan landed the decisive hit, sealing the win in a bout lasting nine minutes 32 seconds.
Entering the competition as the third seed, Pan came through the pool round with five wins and one loss. Although Uzbekistan’s Nargiza Utebaeva beat Pan 5-4 in the pool, Pan took revenge in the semifinal with a 15-13 win over Utebaeva.
“I was under huge pressure mentally coming into the Youth Olympics. You only get to compete here once in your life, and I really wanted to win the gold,” Pan, 17, told Xinhua after the final. “I lost to her (Utebaeva) 5-4 in the pool because I was nervous, and my body was stiff.”
“I hope to earn a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games with my team,” added Pan, who had taken a bronze medal in the women’s individual sabre at the 2025 World Fencing Championships.
