Romanian fencers praised the Olympic fencing hall as fantastic when they started first-day training on Tuesday.

"It is very spacious, and the facilities here are very good," said Saliscan Virgil, who will take part in the men's foil, on the sidelines of the training.

"But I feel a little bit cold," he said, referring to the low indoor temperature which is up to international standard for fencing facilities.

"It's our first time to come here, and so far we have not found any problems with the facilities," said Covaliu Mihai, the Sydney Olympic champion in the men's saber, and currently ranked 2nd in the world.

"We will come here for training every day before the games starts on August 8, to adapt to the conditions," he said.

"As we will keep busy training before the games, we will only have time to tour around the city after the games, which is really a pity," said Virgil.

The Olympic fencing venue was officially opened for training on Sunday, and so far has only seen the Romanian team.

The venue, which is adjacent to the Main Press Center (MPC) will host the sport of fencing, the fencing and shooting events of modern pentathlon during the Olympics. Besides, the Paralympic wheelchair fencing and boccia events will also be held here.

Covering an area of 56,000 square meters, it is equipped with 10 fencing lanes, 36 shooting targets, and seating for 4,400 spectators to meet the requirements of modern pentathlon.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2008)