China pulling away on piste

China steadily pulled away from there on in, partly helped by the three red cards Juhasz received during her bout with Fang.

France against Hungary was the highlight quarter-final of the womens team wheelchair fencing epee event on Friday (7 September).

The French women had not delivered so far, but surprisingly it was a highly competitive fight. It was to be decided on the crucial final bout, France had the chance to cause an up-set. Fan favourite, Delphine Bernard put in a spirited performance against individual medalist Zsuzsanna Krajnyak, which gifted her the momentum to tie the match to 41-41. But Krajnyak rallied, and swung the momentum back her way and made sure she didn’t lose it again, bringing Hungary home 45-41.

After the bout Krajnyak was complimentary of French performance.

"It was a very hard game," Krajnyak said. "They had good tactics."

Elsewhere, Poland progressed into the semi finals with a straightforward victory over Ukraine, whilst Russia matched China for as long as they could before the superiority of the Asian nation prevailed, winning 45-38.

Great Britain’s challenge was Hong Kong. With an incredibly inexperienced side it was always going to be a tall order for GB.

Credit where it’s due, Gabby Down, at just 14 was excellent against Yu Chui Yee, "She normally destroys me, but if that had been an individual pool fight I would've beaten her."

Hong Kong moved onto the semi-finals, beating Great Britain, 45-26.

Both semi-finals were hotly contested: Hong Kong against China and Poland versus Hungary, you couldn’t predict which way either of them were going to go.

The difference for China was Rong Jing. Facing Yu Chui Yee in the final bout, she quickly booked China’s place in the gold medal match. Predictably it would be the in-form Krajnyak to guarantee another medal for Hungary, who have had a very successful fencing tournament.

Ukraine and Russia have also earned their plaudits, and they ended the womens event contesting for fifth and sixth position, whilst GB and France both went to prove their worth in the seventh and eighth place play-off.

Hong Kong and Poland fought it out for the bronze medal with Marta Fidrych making a bright start against 6 time Paralympic medalist Fan Pui Shan. Shan won two silvers and two golds in Athens, 2004 but she looked slow and was the clear chink in the Hong Kong amour.

Unfortunately for Poland, neither Marta Makowska nor Dagmara Witos-Eze could profit from Shan. Her teammates Yu Chui Yee and Chan Yui Chong barely gave Poland a sniff and they secured the bronze medal.

France beat Great Britain to claim seventh with Russia placed in fifth and Ukraine sixth.

Into the final and Krajnyak had carried the Hungarian side all the way. Now they were faced with their toughest challenge, one last time the team captain was required to step up to the plate.

Juhasz face Rong Jing in the first bout, which was an incredibly tentative affair only 1 hit in the allotted time.

Facing foil category B gold medalist Yao Fang, Krajanyak by contrast was immense in the second. She produced quite simply a master class of counter attacking fencing to dismantle Fang 10-2.

Unfortunately for Hungary, Wu Bai Li was just as fired up as Krajnyak and made a remarkable comeback against Gyongyi Dani to shift the match in China’s favor 15-13.

China steadily pulled away from there on in, partly helped by the three red cards Juhasz received during her bout with Fang.

At 40-34 in the final bout it was up to Krajnyak to bring the gold home for Hungary. But she was left with a too greater task and the Chinese won it comfortably 45-38.