Resurgent Coutya defends epee title in South Korea

Dimitri Coutya made up for the disappointment of defeat in the foil final with a gold medal in the epee while Piers Gilliver also clinched bronze.

Coutya was gutted not to have prevailed in his favourite event as he was defeated 15-12 in the foil final by Paralympic gold medallist Yanke Feng at the Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in Cheongju.

But he roared back to the top in the epee the very next day, overcoming China’s Daoliang Hu in style 15-7 to defend his title.

“Yesterday I was really disappointed with the final [in the foil] as I felt I could have done much better but then I’m aware of the fact that the athletes I was facing were at the highest standard,” Coutya said.

“But to come out with silver on such a competitive stage was fantastic, and to rectify that with a gold medal and to defend the title from two years ago as well.

“For me, Daoliang Hu has been one of the ones to watch over the whole time and one of the most dominant figures, so finally now to be competitive with him in both disciplines is a really incredible feeling, especially over the next year in the build-up to Tokyo.”

Meanwhile, Gilliver added a sabre bronze to the gold he won yesterday in the epee after he knocked-out Russia’s world champion Maxim Shaburov in an earlier round.