South Korean fencer Oh Eun-seok has become the first Asian to gain the world's top spot in the men's sabre category.

Oh placed first in the category by earning a total of 300 points in the 2009-2010 season of the Federation Internationale d'Escrime, the world governing body of fencing.

Oh is the nation's second fencer who achieved the distinction, after female fencer Nam Hyun-hee grabbed the top position in the female fleuret category in 2007.

The world ranking of Koo Bon-gil, who won in the recent Asian Fencing Championships in Seoul, climbed to fourth from tenth.