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October 18, 2011

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China retain men's foil worlds title

CHINA retained the men's foil team title as it withstood a fierce fightback from France to win the nail-biting final 45-44 at the world championships in Catania, Italy, on Sunday.

France had taken a 20-15 lead before Ma Jianfei put on a dazzling performance to win back eight points for his team in the penultimate round, giving China a 41-35 advantage entering the final round.

Erwan Le Pechoux, the final fencer for France, then amazingly staved off six match points in a row to tie the score at 44-44. Lei Sheng, China's top ace, then pulled himself together and snatched it 45-44 at the death.

Wang Haibin, China men's foil team head coach, cut a relieved figure after the match.

"It was really a roller-coaster, too breath-taking. I almost could not breathe at the final moments," he said. "It could have been easier for us, but Lei Sheng was not that decisive when he had six match points at his disposal."

China, however, lost the women's epee team gold to Romania 44-45 after conceding a 5-point lead.





 

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