Italy claimed their first-ever women's epee team gold at the Paris Olympics依依社区, narrowly defeating France 30-29, while China missed the podium, losing 32-31 to Poland in the bronze medal match.
PARIS, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A fully-packed Grand Palais witnessed two thrillers on Tuesday night, as Italy edged hosts France to win their first-ever women's epee team gold at the Paris Olympic Games, while Poland clinched the bronze ahead of China.
France came in as the seventh seed in the category, the second-lowest above only Egypt, but managed to upset South Korea and Poland to reach the final against world No. 1 Italy.
Led by individual event silver medalist Auriane Mallo-Breton, France overcame a 3-2 disadvantage from the first round to lead until the eighth round when substitute Mara Navarria outscored Alexandra Louis-Marie to put Italy ahead.
The two teams tied at 29-29 as time ran out依依社区, before Alberta Santuccio scored the final strike to give Italy a 30-29 victory, improving from their bronze medal at Tokyo 2020.
China, consisting of Tokyo women's epee individual gold medalist Sun Yiwen and Olympic debutants Yu Sihan, Tang Junyao and Xu Nuo, prevailed to a 45-41 win over Ukraine, before losing to Italy 45-24 in the semifinal.
Facing off against world champions Poland in the bronze medal match, China had a slow start and trailed 9-7 after three rounds. Sun then delivered a stunning 7-3 run over Martyna Swatowka-Wenglarczyk to lead 14-12.
The two teams tied at 31 as time ran out, with Aleksandra Jarecka scoring the decisive hit over Yu en route to win 32-31, clinching Poland's first-ever Olympic women's epee team medal.
漫展偷拍
"Today, my teammates have performed their best and demonstrated the spirit of young athletes," Sun said of the bronze medal match.
"The result could have gone either way, but I believe this is their first major event [for my teammates], and growth requires experience. This is also a valuable life experience for them," she added.
"There is regret, but life doesn't have to be all about the joy of success. You have to experience all the joys and sorrows," said Sun, who failed to qualify for the round of 16 in the individual event on Sunday.
The men's sabre team event will take place on Wednesday. ■依依社区