PARIS, Sep. 6 (by EUROPA PRESS special correspondent Ramón Chamorro) –
Spain’s Judith Rodriguez was unable to repeat her excellent performance in foil fencing at the Paris Paralympic Games on Friday, where she won a bronze medal for which she was close to competing on this occasion as well.
The Galician shooter made a good start with her second weapon in this event and easily beat Frenchwoman Clemence Delavoipiere in her first round, strongly supported by the crowd at the Grand Palais in the French capital, but who fell 15-8 after the Vigo native took the last five hits.
In the quarter-finals, Rodríguez was awaited by Chinese Yuandong Chen, world bronze medallist in épée and world champion in team épée. The Asian did not give the Spaniard too many options, who was too far behind from the start (9-2) and ended up losing 15-8.
The defeat sent the Galician fencer to the repechage to try to get a second bronze medal. Her first rival was precisely the one she had defeated to win her first Paralympic medal, the veteran Hong Konger Chui Yee Yu, who took revenge in a close round where the seven-time Paralympic champion started better (4-2).
The Vigo native reacted with six consecutive hits that brought her closer to victory (4-8), but the Asian was the one who then replied with a series of eight hits that turned the score around (12-8) and gave her an advantage that she knew how to hold on to win 15-11 and put an end to Judith Rodríguez’s positive Parisian adventure.