Lei wins gold in men's foil
Source: Agencies |
August 2, 2012, Thursday
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LEI Sheng won the men's individual foil at the London Olympics to claim his first major international gold medal on Tuesday, while Egypt's Alaaeldin Abouelkassem left his mark on the games even in defeat.
Abouelkassem lost the final 13-15 to his Chinese rival and settled for silver, the first Olympic medal ever claimed by a fencer from Africa.
Lei's first gold at a major event topped his silver at the 2010 world championships in Paris and gave China only its second ever Olympic title in men's fencing.
"I did not expect to win a medal," the 28-year-old Lei said. "I was well prepared and full of confidence, so maybe that worked in my favor today."
Abouelkassem, who plays left-handed, asked for medical treatment on his left arm at 2-4 down in the final. He resumed the match after five minutes and came close to winning gold after taking a 13-11 lead.
"I had a problem with my left shoulder before the match," he said. "Then I had the cramp in the whole left hand. My pointing wasn't very good. It was very hard to win."
Still, he could barely believe what he'd achieved, dedicating the medal to his father who died recently.
"This was the dream of my dad and he left me three months ago," he said.
Choi Byung-chul of South Korea won bronze after edging Andrea Baldini 15-14, denying the multiple European and world champion from Italy the Olympic medal he's still lacking.
Baldini missed the 2008 Beijing Games amid a doping case but was later cleared of the charges.
Choi said after beating Ma Jianfei of China 15-13 that the disputed semifinal defeat from Shin A-lam in the women's individual epee on Monday "had a big effect" on the South Korean team.
Shin lost the match 6-5 to Germany's Britta Heidemann, but not before officials rejected an appeal by the South Koreans, claiming that the match was already over when Heidemann scored the winning point in the final second.
"It was psychologically very difficult," Choi said.
"I personally couldn't sleep tonight. I went to bed at 11 and couldn't sleep until three o'clock in the morning.
"Shin A-lam definitely should have won," he said.
Abouelkassem lost the final 13-15 to his Chinese rival and settled for silver, the first Olympic medal ever claimed by a fencer from Africa.
Lei's first gold at a major event topped his silver at the 2010 world championships in Paris and gave China only its second ever Olympic title in men's fencing.
"I did not expect to win a medal," the 28-year-old Lei said. "I was well prepared and full of confidence, so maybe that worked in my favor today."
Abouelkassem, who plays left-handed, asked for medical treatment on his left arm at 2-4 down in the final. He resumed the match after five minutes and came close to winning gold after taking a 13-11 lead.
"I had a problem with my left shoulder before the match," he said. "Then I had the cramp in the whole left hand. My pointing wasn't very good. It was very hard to win."
Still, he could barely believe what he'd achieved, dedicating the medal to his father who died recently.
"This was the dream of my dad and he left me three months ago," he said.
Choi Byung-chul of South Korea won bronze after edging Andrea Baldini 15-14, denying the multiple European and world champion from Italy the Olympic medal he's still lacking.
Baldini missed the 2008 Beijing Games amid a doping case but was later cleared of the charges.
Choi said after beating Ma Jianfei of China 15-13 that the disputed semifinal defeat from Shin A-lam in the women's individual epee on Monday "had a big effect" on the South Korean team.
Shin lost the match 6-5 to Germany's Britta Heidemann, but not before officials rejected an appeal by the South Koreans, claiming that the match was already over when Heidemann scored the winning point in the final second.
"It was psychologically very difficult," Choi said.
"I personally couldn't sleep tonight. I went to bed at 11 and couldn't sleep until three o'clock in the morning.
"Shin A-lam definitely should have won," he said.
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