China`s Lei wins Olympic gold in men`s foil
Baku, August 1 (AZERTAC). Fencer Lei Sheng of China won the gold medal in men`s individual foil at the Olympics, beating Alaaeldin Abouelkassem of Egypt 15-13 in Tuesday`s final.
Abouelkassem, who struggled with an arm injury, became the first fencer from the African continent to win an Olympic medal. It was Lei`s first gold medal at a major competition, topping his second-place finish at the 2010 world championships.
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 after failing a doping test, though he was later cleared of all charges.
Abouelkassem finished fifth at last year`s world championships for his previous best result at a major competition. He is ranked eighth by the International Fencing Federation.
Abouelkassem, son of an Algerian mother and an Egyptian father, said his victory would not just boost fencing in Egypt, but in all of Africa. On his way to the final, Abouelkassem beat world champion Andrea Cassara of Italy and four-time world champion Peter Joppich of Germany.
Abouelkassem, who`s left-handed, asked for medical treatment on his left arm at 4-2 down in the final. He resumed the match after five minutes and came close to winning gold, leading Lei 13-11 at one point.
Shin lost the match 6-5 to Germany`s Britta Heidemann, but not before officials rejected an appeal by the South Koreans, who argued the match was already over when Heidemann scored the winning point in the final second.
Germany lost its two main medal hopes before the quarterfinals. Defending champion Benjamin Kleibrink was routed in his opening match 15-5 by Yuki Ota of Japan before Joppich went out against Abouelkassem.
Baldini defeated fifth-ranked Race Imboden of the United States 15-9 on his way to the semifinals.
Imboden, competing in his first Olympics, was unhappy with his performance.
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