Lee Jihun will hope to repeat his victory from Los Angeles ©UIPM

South Korea’s Lee Jihun was among the top qualifiers for the men’s final at the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) World Cup season in Kecskemét.

Lee was the victor at the second World Cup event in Los Angeles and showed strong form again in Hungary.

The South Korean finished second in the fencing event in Group A before ending sixth in the swimming discipline.

He concluded the day with a solid laser-run, helping him to a score of 1,107 points in qualification.

Hungary’s Bence Demeter proved his closest challenger as the home athlete managed a score of 1,096 points.

Ukraine’s Yuriy Fedecko and Belarus’ Kirill Kasyanik both achieved 1,093 points to end third in the qualification group.

Ireland's Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe secured a place in the final with a strong qualification ©Getty Images
Ireland's Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe secured a place in the final with a strong qualification ©Getty Images

Germany’s Alexander Nobis topped Group B by ending the day with 1,117 points, with Hungary’s Gergely Regős and Belarus’ Ilya Palazkov finishing one point down.

The top three athletes in Group C all ended with the same score of 1,112 points.

Ireland’s Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe was joined on the total by South Korea’s Jun Woong-tae and France’s Christopher Patte.

Patte triumphed in the opening World Cup of the season in Cairo.

The women’s final is due to take place tomorrow, with the men’s following on Sunday (May 6).

A mixed relay is the scheuled to bring the World Cup event to a close on Monday (May 7).