Competitors join forces for the team event

The competition starts at the quarter-final stage with Hong Kong taking on the host nation Great Britain.

Day 4 of the wheelchair fencing means the women’s team event, where category A or B athletes can be part of the team of 3.

Neither the women’s nor men’s team events featured in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

The competition starts at the quarter-final stage with Hong Kong taking on the host nation Great Britain. Hong Kong and China, who take on Russia, both have predictably strong teams.

Hong Kong has a wealth of experience. Chui Yee Yu already has 2 gold medals from the individual events. Yui Chong Chan was a Paralympic champion in Beijing 2008 and the 37 year-old Pui Shan Fan completes the Hong Kong side.

In comparison the Great Britain’s age average is just 18. Gabi Down, whose hero is former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Jamie Redknapp, is the youngest member at 14.

With such a young side it would be hard to see past Hong Kong, but Great Britain has the crowd roaring behind them and there have been up sets in this tournament already.

Great Britain’s neighbours from across the channel take on an extremely strong Hungarian side.

The French female athletes have found it tough so far and their next task doesn’t get any easier. Zsuzsanna Krajnyak won silver in the epee on Wednesday (5 September) and bronze in the foil, with Gyongyi Dani claiming silver in the category B event. Veronika Juhasz, who lost to Krajnyak in the foil bronze medal match, is the third and final member in a very strong Hungarian side.

Poland’s strengths are found in their category B foil bronze medallist, Marta Makowska, who also made the quarter-finals of the epee competition. The Pols face an equally matched opponent in Ukraine consisting of Alla Gorlina, Tetiana Pozniak and Iryna Lukianenko, whose ambition is to win gold at the Games.