Gilliver believes gap is closing as wheelchair fencers earn silver

Piers Gilliver insists ParalympicsGB are getting closer to beating arch-rivals China after a silver medal in the team foil.

This was a repeat of the final from three years ago in Tokyo and it was the same result too, Gilliver and team-mates Dimitri Coutya and Oliver Lam-Watson going down 45-34.

The early stages were close but Gilliver admits that ultimately China’s class showed.

“That’s two final defeats against China but they are both quite different,” he said. 

“In Tokyo we had no expectations but here we were really gunning for gold and we made them work a lot hard, that shows how far we’ve come.”

Coutya, a gold medallist in the men’s foil B category 24 hours earlier, took satisfaction from earlier matches in their run to the final, in particular a semi-final victory over France – the eventual bronze medallists - at the Grand Palais.

“That was a very tough match but I’m very proud of our performance,” he said. 

“We showed up in the matches beforehand and to beat France in France, considering what a strong team they are, shows how much work we’ve put into this medal. China were just better than us but we made them work hard.”

Lam-Watson also was determined to accentuate the positive, against a Chinese team who haven’t lost in the team event since its introduction to the Games at London 2012.

“Silver always feels a bit bittersweet; it’s winning a medal but losing a gold,” he said 

“We left it all on the piste but it was really a struggle they just bested us on the day. It’s still an incredible medal to show for all the work we put in.”