China stayed on the track to regain its status as the No. 1 fencing power
in Asia after its fencers pocketed both men's team foil and women's team sabre
golds by defeating their South Korean competitors at the 15th Asian Games on
Tuesday.
After Tuesday's victory, China led the fencing gold tally with five golds,
leaving South Korea, the No. 1 fencing gold winner at Busan in 2002, trailing
with two golds.
In the women's team sabre game, China defeated South Korea 45-38, with Zhao
Yuanyuan, winner of the individual sabre silver medal in Doha, twice winning by
huge margins to help her team claim the title.
Kim Keun Hwa of South Korea sabred to a 5-4 lead against Zhao after the first
bout. But Tan Xue, the highest ranking player in the Chinese team and gold
winner of individual sabre in Doha, outclassed her South Korean opponent to end
the second bout with a10-8 lead.
The South Korean player launched a strong fight back in the third session and
came from behind to lead 15-12. But China soon imposed their superiority and
moved ahead after Zhao comfortably beat Jang Hyun Kyung 8-2 to put the Chinese
20-17.
The Chinese girls maintained their lead until the penultimate duel when Zhao
beat Lee Shin Mi 5-1. In the last bout, though Kim Keun Hwa scored consecutive
hits with intensified attacks, Tan Xuesealed the game 45-38.
"We used the right tactics to beat the South Koreans," said Zhao after the
match. "I didn't fight in the last bout, but I think winning the second to last
bout and leaving a good lead for Tan Xue was very important," Zhao stated.
"I am really happy to see my girls fence well tactically today," said China
coach Christian Bauer. "South Korea begins slow and China tend to start fast.
Today we got it right," said the Frenchman.
China won another gold in a gripping men's team foil, beating South Korea in
the very last bout. In the first four bouts, it wasnip and tuck but China always
had the lead over South Korea. Wu Hanxiong and Zhu Jun of China won matches six
and seven after the fifth bout was cancelled.
China went into the penultimate match between Wu Hanxiong and Ha Chang Duk
with a five point advantage, but Ha fought back winning the match by exactly
five points to end the bout in a 22-22 tie.
In the final bout, Lei Sheng and Choi Byung Chul had a fierce duel, with the
lead changing hands several times. But Lei overcamethe pressure and took
advantage of his opponent's disparate attacks sealing the game 34-29.
"I was very nervous, but I could not afford to think of winningor losing. He
was attacking fast, so I tried to go on the defence and then counter-attack. I
think in the final 20 or 30 seconds he became desperate," said Lei.
There are four golds remaining for grabs in the following fencing events.