CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) – Upsets ruled in the men’s team epee fencing competition on Friday, with the top four teams crashing out in the quarterfinals.
France, Italy, Ukraine, and Switzerland lost and will be fencing for fifth place and lower, while South Korea, China, the ROC and Japan made it to the semifinals to vie for a medal.
In one of the day’s biggest surprises, Japan, ranked eighth, defeated top-ranked France, which also has individual epee gold medalist Romain Cannone in their ranks.
With under two minutes to go in the last bout, Japan’s Koki Kano landed a successful jab in the torso of Yannick Borel, tying the two teams at 44-44.
As the two eyed one another for the last point, it was Borel who made the first move but Kano side-stepped his attack and ended the game with a quick stab to Borel’s waist.
Kano jumped up and down in joy and clutched at his hair in apparent disbelief.
The Japanese team had already defeated the United States in the table of 16, where Kano won a whopping 16 points in the last bout to bring a 45-39 victory, despite starting from behind.
“That’s what you get at the Olympics … everyone’s at their top level. That’s what it is,” said Romain Cannone after the match.
“I think we were prepared, I was hoping for better, but at the same time … I can’t be more proud than this team even though we didn’t achieve the result we wanted,” he added.
Japan will face South Korea in the semifinals, while the Russian Olympic Committee team will face China.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Stephen Coates)
