China's Tan Xue snatched the women's sabre individual gold medal after beating her teammate Zhao Yuanyuan 15-11 at the 15th Asian Games on Saturday.

The superior strength and speed of Tan Xue, Olympic silver medallist at Athens 2004 and bronze medallist at Busan, enabled her to defeat Zhao.

The final between the two teammates was close-fought, reaching 8-6 by the first break. But Tan victoriously expanded her dominance, ending the game 15-11 before the second break came.

"Overall, I am satisfied with my performance today. It was an easy match. We played smoothly because we know each other very well," said Tan.

"It is important for me because I have not won any title from major events for a long time. Today's win gives me a boost," she said.

Zhao also said that she felt good about the results. "Compared to Tan Xue, I am not as fierce in my attack and also I am not as fast. It's all about strength and Tan Xue has strong legs."

Zhao slipped and fell at the start of the bout. "It was one of my own mistakes," she said. "I wasn't stable enough but I think I actually played better in the finals than the semifinals."

Chow Tsz Ki of Hong Kong, China, and South Korea's Kim Keum Hwatook bronze.

In the men's foil individual event on Saturday, Japan's Yuki Ota took gold after beating Lee Cheon Woong of South Korea 15-8.

China's Lei Sheng and Zhang Liangliang took the bronze medals.

Coach Wang Haibin said that the Chinese pair, pre-event favorates for the gold, lost their games because they were "too eager to win".

"They should be more patient to wait for the right timing for attacks," he said.

Ota called the victory "a really confidence-boosting and life-changing moment".

He said that after winning against fencers like Zhang, he "really had an injection of confidence".

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2006)