Maria Valentina Vezzali of Italy outpointed South Korea Nam Hyunhee 6-5 to take the women's individual foil gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games on Monday.

Maria Valentina Vezzali [Xinhua]

Italian Vezzali wins women's individual foil Olympic gold [Xinhua]

Ranked number one in the world, Vezzali defeated the South Korean foilist Nam Hyun hee 7-5. Vezzali took a comfortable lead at 3-0, but was overtaken by Nam Hyun hee at 3-3. In the following fights, they fenced at 4-4, 5-5, and Vezzali eventually led the race at 7-5.

She jumped into a cheering crowd of Italians and bursted into tears.

World's No. 2 Margherita Granbassi crashed the world's third seed Giovanna Trillini, both from Italy, at 15-12 to take the bronze.

"There are a lot of sacrifice and work behind the victory," Vezzali said on the press conference held after the race. "I wondered whether I could win my third Olympic gold before the match. I tried my best and gave the maximum attention to fight for a very strong competitor.

"There were two types of persons in the world, one who will never give up, and the other type who does not. I absolutely did my best," said the foil queen with 16 World Championship medals under her belt.

Nam said: "Attitudes decide the result. I try to live positively, and that's why I am here. It's my honor to fight with Vezzali. It's a close game, and I am happy that my efforts could win the silver medal."

"I was nervous and did not control my emotion well. I hope I can give better performance in the future," said the 27-year-old.

Vezzali said she was looking forward to the team event due to held days later, so she would concentrate and save energy.

"It is important to face challenges in your life, that's what I always teached to my son," Vezzali said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)