Wheelchair Fencing | France v HKG | Men’s Team Foil - Bronze | Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

part of the team so two can be category a one has to be category b at least one has to be category b so what we do have is match-ups between category a and b and as we go through the actual event and as we go through the nine matches that we've uh that makes up um the whole event then what will happen is we will have different tactics that will be displayed and we'll point those out to you as we go the order of the um the fences as well very important it goes in five point increments and there are nine bouts and the uh nine belts although we've got a three minute time limit up there um in foil it doesn't hardly ever goes the um anywhere near the three minutes so it's over very very quickly it's very explosive the foil colored part of the jacket there that's the target front and back and sometimes some of the shots the flick shots go over the back there and still register so uh nothing else will uh will register well the foil blade so malleable so light but a flick quite easy to perform unlike the f8 where it's a much less frequently used move yeah weighs about a pound or just under half a kilo for some of the younger ones so just measuring up now the distance and the distance between the fences is always measured the one with the shortest reach but uh the referees behind there just making sure that they're posturing so that they're not leaning forwards or backwards in order to um get a false reading there so they're very strict on it and we're just about ready to go here in this bronze medal match first match up of hong kong the gatlian of france they test their weapons against each other's four jackets and then a protocol of saluting the referees the crowd and ultimately each other mask comes on you can see the clock set as you mentioned the referee be sat on the edge of his seat quite literally as he has to make some tough calls in these intense environments and straight away the red the yellow card has come out and that's because catliana was just a little bit too quick off the mark and tried to initiate his attack before the match had even been called to start yeah two of those yellow cards will be a point against so every point here is uh hotly contested it really is and every point counts first point up to sean like i say it's it's five point increments and there's a yellow card there up to xiang as well so say for example to catalin goes five points up then the next people come on to the piste and uh they have a chance then to to catch up the deficit because uh the next bout will be up to 10 points well close this to cutlean pulls a point back he's wily isn't he uh to catlyan very experienced every trick in the book look at the lean coming from closing the distance as much as he can yeah they've got to make sure that the backside doesn't come off the off the wheelchair not well they can keep one buttock i think in contact with but and there are judges that will make sure that they do that kathleen gets the second point well you can see the movement that they've got and well just to give you an idea the b category wouldn't be able to come out that far but uh we had one that actually just uh that fell out that the chair because just uh committed too much they can lose balance after the hit has been scored but if as you mentioned too much of the body more than 50 of the derriere has left the chair then a card would be produced the first instance of yellow card as we can see both athletes have already been awarded yellow whatever it's for the next card the next defense is always a red but the yellow cards after the five points they won't count anymore that it's a brand new match starts well that was a very important uh five points there wasn't it for the very experienced damien decatlion takes france 5-1 into the lead well it's a good start for france well the masters had to be put back on for the result to be confirmed manchai just getting one touch to damian took out leanne's five well that is the opening score for the overall teams first bout the team always loved to get that advantage taking the pressure off them and putting it onto their opponents as the next defenses will come on to the peace the other two are on the piste and uh chant went king of hong kong against maxine vale just having a little chat there together just before this all kicks off so actually just to test the equipment just make sure that the end of the foil is working correctly and that they've got a good connection well this weapon the name of it is a bit of a giveaway with the foil jackets in the area to score a point on the torso includes the bottom part of the bib of the fencing mask you can see it's got that foil covering nice at the start of this boat yeah well he just um wants another check there he's not quite sure he thinks he connected and it didn't connect how he wanted it to connect so it might be another foil you all have to have spares and a little bit of a problem haven't we with the electrical equipment well it is finely tuned and as soon as there's one problem in the circuit it'll show up but the problem is you never know exactly where the difficulty is where the circuit is faulting and it's only by process of elimination and where there's so many connections so many wires starting with the tip of the foil the socket where the body wire plugs in that's just behind the guard you'll see some of them as they're preparing just plugging in then there's the cables just seeing there that's connect the jacket to the mask making sure that the mask is actually all part of that circuit of the scoring area just the metallic bib of the mask obviously body wire attaches to the spool to the ground lead and then eventually into the box and that happens on either side respectively and now there seems to be a little bit of a problem with valets so they'll have to check him out now that's never a nice place to be when you're just waiting to get on with things and you've just got to wait we have seen quite a few halts and proceedings today with the team relay and the foil weapon but the athletes in these situations will be relaxed because it's nothing to do that's not their issue right now it looks as though the equipment failing could be that of the competition organizers so the best method in these situations is just to switch off but be ready to switch back into competition mode as soon as the problem is solved conserving not just physical energy in these situations but really importantly that emotional and mental energy yeah well it is isn't it it is emotional and takes a lot of which is why of course when you uh are straight back into action sometimes you can be struggling for breath heart rate goes up and doesn't necessarily mean that your condition's not that good but it's a lot of nervous energy as well well i guess this is one of the difficulties when you've got electrical circuits that are required as part of the equipment and if you get a problem with an electrical circuit then you've got to have the electricians in straight away to sort the problem out and it's a process of elimination well everything seems to be okay now and if you have a look at the score there france 6-1 up and that is quite a tidy little lead only the second bout this one so one of the points been taken off so it's 5-1 such a point to prove france a consolation they can win they promised well of course the difficulty for the referee while we had a little knock there didn't we difficulty for the referee is to determine who gets the priority who actually instigated the movement so he has a harder job much harder job in foil and that's why if you see a double hit they'll have to decide who who actually had the right away who had the priority would you say who instigated the technique well initially so this is why you have the fences so quick off the mark at the beginning and sometimes seeing the yellow card awarded for starting so fast and there's a prime example of starting so fast if it's a direct hit it'll be the person who actually started the movement first direct clip being pretty much an arm extension getting the point on target but there are several ways to regain the priority so beating the blade out of the way waiting for the opponent to retreat and you are then in charge of the attack the counter parries and that's what all the signs from the referee are coming through but it's very difficult to follow in real time with a naked eye well and also uh difficult for the referee to follow as well sometimes which is why he'll if need be he'll have a look at the video referee the video playback two one up in there private battle here valet and shen but it's team uh tournament and so it's the overall team there and you can see it's 7-2 to france there the attack initiated from the right the hits onto the opponent on the left and then the referee awards the point to valet one point away from concluding this boat getting a little momentum two three points now to valets for the frenchman just wanting one more point to end the bat and there's the cable that connects the mask making it part of the target area so we'll want to get the tent here going six ahead for the next belt will be doing the opposite he'll want to get that score down a good job equal on points now for a piece for chan against valley and i stayed just so close to that necessary 10 he's just stuck one point off keeping closer okay yeah really doing well here isn't he and pulling hong kong back into this it's amazing how it just changes it really does turn around so quickly but each of these three fences in each team will have defense three in the other and we'll expect to see many changes in momentum quite possibly in the lead order and at the moment hong kong are looking threatening towards that lead that france had they had a lead of four points at the start of this bout now it's down to just one so nine nine each wow didn't he do well then now he's put hong kong into the lead well that wasn't too an impressive opener for maxine valet but it was france choosing to put their category b fencer on early so we'll expect to see a change in lead quite possibly when hong kong china put forward their category b fencer and that will be well the appeal has meant that point taken off and still valet has chance to put france back in the lead right well now it's confirmed again and uh chan wingedkin uh puts hong kong one point ahead and that was a great comeback from him a lot of flicks you can see chan there taking the priority with the beat of the blade and then finishing the touch on the body so change of lead hong kong china lead france 10 points to nine out number three time checksum category b fencer up next for hong kong against ludovic le moan to va for france so if that last bout was a mismatch in theory this one will be too yeah this is where france and ludovic lamoire will be trying to pick up points all righty his first point on this in this match his first point of his first bat and lila lemoine was asked for the video replay well we said that every point is competitive and everyone so so important 45 is what they're aiming for over the nine belts well if the challenge is unsuccessful hong kong will have a lead of two points that's the first appearance of three for time chick sum and ludovic lemoine in this bronze medal match and the referee stuck by the original decision aggressive fencing from lenwa and he gets a point back this the chance for france to regain that lead time a category a fencer comes up a category b that's a chance for that team to make up for any points they might have lost or extend a lead they might already have well this matches up to 15. so that's what they're both both teams and both fences are aiming for well here's your example of a free wanting to see this in slow motion just watch it four times when he chooses to if necessary also you can confer with the video analyzer be a fellow qualified referee so now 13 to france 13 11. and what will want to take this to 15 to give them a big and he's one officer couple of points back time just off uh target wasn't quite on two white lights yeah and that's uh that's it it's 15 to france now managing to read a lot luna vigilant one six it was limitation of the damage for hong kong they came into this boat with a one point lead but they knew it would be tough with a category b against category a so now after the first third when all three fences from either team have made an appearance it's only two points separating these two teams in this bronze medal match back to number four let's see come on to the piste against maxime valley bow everything must be working precisely nothing left to chance at these paralympic games first point between these two fences but interestingly france other category b fencer back on already before the accident that put him in a wheelchair part of that team that world winning team never competed in paralympic games so you'll want this medal that's for sure the first third of this bronze medal match and france might have hoped to have a little bit more dominance early on very quick my valet but not getting it on target no just missing out every time now two ahead sean manchai four nil up against valet i just uh started a little bit before the alley well this is a real example of how things change around and how the order the fences come on can make so much difference because a deficit can really be turned around when you have category b against category a and that's what we're seeing right here team valley not able to hold his own or even maintain the lead that he uh the movement but uh that was was that a point he just can't it hasn't got the same kind of movement in the chair but it does make a difference so one point away now from winning this belt okay i don't know we thought that was all over but it's not so close having a second point doubling his individual score chong mein chai still dominating though with his six to two and he got there just giving one more point to france so seven points to two chong over valley and that now puts hong kong china three points back in the lead confirmation hong kong china 20 points and france 17. next up tam chick sump against damien we'll be aware of the advantage he has over damian with the points those three points that he has of the lead could be faisal if he's going to maintain hong kong on the top at the moment because he the category b and up against the very experienced captain finished seventh thing in the category individual foil whereas to ham chick sum not only a category b fencer but also specializing more in epay and saber so the two other of the three weapons used in fencing so on paper as we've mentioned a few times in this situation should be the stronger in this boat but france also on paper should have won their semi-final match as reigning world champions and now they are finding themselves behind hong kong in this bronze medal match yeah it doesn't always uh go according to plan does it can to to kathleen pull this back here's one point well it'll be the first to 25. kathleen will be fully aware of his job here and that will be to not only reach 25 before tamp but to try and limit the amount of hits that time can score straight away to catley and questioning the referee's decision asking for review kathleen thinks it was his point i'm gonna say he has to accept doesn't he because otherwise he'd be there all day wouldn't he we'll be expecting to get more points than tom by some considerable margin he'll need to if he's going to put france back in the lead jacket that's going to bring france to within one point reacting and now for the first time in this boat hong kong equal with france that's 22 apiece but tam having another hit on target category fencer and this seems to be one apiece as to kathleen reacts quickly 23 a piece again two away from winning this bout who is going to get there first it's a race now to 25 points and so fast off the mark france one point away a shake of a head by the 44 year old frenchman just whipping inside the jacket inside the foil jacket by tam from the right point confirmed oh a lot of contact but not on target well this really is back and forth isn't it so close both fences desperate to get 25 on their score side and it's hong kong china who think they've got the point but so kathleen won't risk anything he wants to check the tip of his foil it's working he doesn't understand but he understands he has to shake the hand the referee's decisions final and that was not what france were hoping for look at the end seven points so times five but hong kong having just put their category defensor on are still leading even if it is by such a slim margin yeah like you said just not what they wanted they wanted points here they wanted a points differential so you can see it there just one point in it about six channels thinking up again one a bit more winking those individual events just missing out on the quarterfinals though both of them only managing to compete in the individual saber did actually progress into those quarter finals well for those that have just joined us this is the bronze medal match and uh there is the mexican wave going around karaoke three and just a little bit of disturbance for the fences there are now about six they're going up to 30 now it's the first one up to 30 on the board well this match really is proving to be far closer than many might have expected movement back and forth of the platform along the piste yeah they get so much movement in the wheelchair and although they're stuck and bolted to the floor they pieced they slide along the piste such as the momentum defenses celebrating simultaneously after the simultaneous hit but only one fencer can be awarded a point well we'll wait to see how the referee analyzes that and it is chan who had the priority in that situation so hong kong china up to a one point lead over a two-point lead over france chan one two one well this is a close match it really is just checking there to see if his foil was connected he does seem to be going point to the left point to the right not only the points of the foil but the points on the scoreboard now chan with two victories in a row suddenly puts hong kong just one away from finishing this back the first to 30 in about number six to get that priority get that point on to the target on to the real lammy of their opponents they are so close to rounding up this boat one more needed by chan he's got four points so far he needs that total of five and one however we'll need a total of six if he's going to put france back in front well what a close match so now one one point off equalizing and hong kong china one point of finishing this belt foreign again now asking for a review so go to the video review king thinks it was his so it failed and so he won't be able to do another and it's he'd do one more he has one more but uh one of them is used up now so either one of these now could go to the 30 mark and take their team into a lead and it's lemon that gets it so he'll be so happy about that because it was going away from him well there were quite a few tense moments throughout that boat john winking looked to really have control that crucial final green light sealed it for france now france back in the lead all right just one point the first of 45 we are two-thirds of the way to deciding whether hong kong or france will pick up paralympic team bronze just how important are these last two matches incredibly important the order that the fence has come on in will affect the score no doubt these orders have already been put in so it's not the team's choosing as they go along maxine valet testing the oil bib of tam chicks on this a relatively even match on paper both fences category b after this there'll be two matches remaining i think that was a bit quick off the mark and valet knew before the referee even reached for his pocket yeah yellow card on the eight of elite but just a little bit quicker well now with these last three matches starts to get very interesting so this is up to 35 tam we'll need six points to get up to 35 and valet needs four you can hear the foil blade whipping through the air it's that fast i think we're going to see quite a few reviews still to come are they asking but i think content with the answer that he was again he decided against it didn't he i don't want to give away any points at this late stage the final time on the piste for tam and valley and after this they all just have to sit back and see what their teammates can do it's proving to be just so close the whole way through we saw the early lead for france lost it out number two to hong kong got it back in about number three lost it again for the next two bouts and then that final bite we just saw they regained it so the lead really changing every bag for every other bout and with this three from the end you can expect to see plenty more excitement and valet this time saying i don't understand how that was not my point referee using the ability to have a another watch from varying angles well that was a worthwhile appeal by the frenchman point awarded as a result you can see why the fences when they're so short i wouldn't ask like you say you can hear the whipping action as well and they were almost stuck in there that was 35 now to france they're five ahead well things starting to go the way of the french and that boat did considerably turn things around my hands have been shaken by the fences but they're asked to be remain in position until it is concluded patiently waiting and the master just had to go back on as part of protocol and the referee towards that fifth and final point to maxine valley five victories so ten chicks one a significant moment in this match for france just catching guards at the end of the italian really getting excited he will be the final fencer on for france so we'll be pleased to see that lead opening up france with 35 points hong kong now trailing by five chong mang chai up in the penultimate bout against ludovic 1. was celebrating there because obviously the bigger the lead that he has in that last that last bout and then the bigger the advantage but it is team isn't it it's all about team effort this this important for the individual and the individual bouts but uh the the team overall team and that uh magic number of 45 is what they're after that is the ultimate goal in any team relay match and that goal just becomes even more yearned for when medals are at stake yes they match to decide who wins the bronze medal nice men's foyle team competition the penultimates a match just two bouts remain a great start following one how quick was that that was just like lightning and again now the reigning world champions in this team event should be starting to show some of their pedigree not going to be intimidated by their status as world champions he has got his eye on the bronze medal just as much as le mans for both of them claiming the point i might just have to make a small adjustment on that platform right now and i think that's what lenoir is asking for okay referee just wants to get on with it just be wanting to get on with the points three away from ending this penultimate bout yeah and all of a sudden something wrong with the point again now the cable just unplugging from the jackets of cheong and therefore ones foil points my contact nothing happened on the scoreboard step closer again 38. to off winning this belt 3-2 in their personal match zhang oh he gets it what a point to get 39 points now to france want a very quick response there from so takes france now just the five points of the bronze medal five three he won his match against uh chong menchi he takes france which is the most important thing into seven point lead can't celebrate yet the french fans were treated to watching their team on top of the podium in the men's epi team event and now chan winkin will have some work to do if he's going to beat this man damian took at the end because it isn't just an individual five to five catelyn needs just the five touches whereas chan winking we'll need not only the five but add to that the seven that he trails by then his team trailed by 12 points to kathleen's five it's doable we've seen comebacks like this throughout these relays but fans do have their most experienced pets right now yeah it's a tall order isn't it for hong kong but as you said we've we've seen some remarkable right the way out of his chair there to cutlean still but he won't want to let that step away and soon getting his first point on to help him stay relaxed another one back there from chant winking is not going to make this easy for kathleen but certainly france you must be thinking this is ours wow that was very very quick wasn't it all the french could do is sit and watch and hope that they're fencer damian took at the end and his 44 years of wisdom can maintain the calm but chan winking i'm ready with a paralympic bronze medal from four years ago is showing his experience at this level and now hong kong are three points away from france to catlian pulling it out the bag at this crucial moment yeah decathlian three points that's what he needs so exciting stuff here we've got a fight back here from shanwyn king and they're gonna have to just quickly readjustment of the platform again pity that because the momentum was starting to to really build this is turning into such an exciting finale to the bronze medal match boy he gets another one back now he's on 40. the french supporters must be sitting on the edge of their seats it looks like a comfortable margin for catlian and he gets one point closer two away from securing the bronze for his team chan now five away but only three behind france and this card being held up to the french fencer he cannot afford another penalty it would equate to the point to hong kong so kathleen i'm ready with one warning well no pressure on to kathleen not much the experience now we'll see it kick him because he needs two points here to win the bronze medal for france the parry reports have come from chant and therefore the catalan had lost his priority that he'd initiated he got from initiating the attack but he didn't agree with the opinion of the referee the french desperate for two more points hong kong china hoping that john winking can get five points over his opponent before to kathleen can get two it's come down to such a fine margin this final bout looked as though it could almost have been a foregone conclusion it is anything but right now so so close with those and it's going to be a red card this is so costly for france and hong kong china now two points away from equalizing in this final bout to catlian making up for that point he just gave away with the mistake now france one point off the bronze medal chan winkin with quite a challenge on his hands but he has an eight to four points lead on the individual standings how was that before or after the halt well he's gonna have to go again and it's another red card and another point to chan chan nine points he needs three more to cutlian four so far in this spout just after one more point to kathleen just getting a little too eager and the referee out of his chair he is checking everything he knows i cannot afford to make any mistakes this is nail biting stuff it really is isn't it it's just so so close they went for experience with decathlian waiting game wow you can cut that with a knife can't you you really can has made two mistakes he has given two points away already it's gonna have to go again and it's another premature start and this is gonna be so traumatic chan of hong kong now only two points away from stealing the bronze medal to kathleen one point away it really is incredibly tense it could be one point that decides this bronze medal it could be this next point the referee not willing to announce any point lightly could this be the final decider who had that priority wow this is just so so close and france had the priority france now have the bronze medal darmian to catlian he gave away a few too many points for his liking with those red cards but he sealed it finally so so close for france but they are now celebrating the bronze medal hong kong china will be runners-up in this semi-final well that was absolutely amazing and well it doesn't get closer than that i don't know how many times i've said it but it just keeps going to the wire every time and the french celebrate we saw it yesterday with the french and they've done it again they've stolen another one and well to stay stolen is perhaps uh not the right word but uh you know what they battled all the way it was a really fine fine line and they just managed to get it ahead of hong kong to kathleen just kept his call in the end france win the bronze medal well a party atmosphere in the karaoke arena 3 for the french and that's going to be led by damian to catlian he really had everybody on the edge of his seat a victory by two points but nobody will remember