Italy sent reigning champion Russia home with a 45-42 win Thursday to set up a men's team sabre final against France, who survived a 45-44 sensational win over the United States.

Luigi Tarantino held Russian Stanislav Pozdniakov to only two points on his third appearance of the game.

"It was a very hard game. They played very well, but we are hungry for the gold medal so we tried a lot," Tarantino said.

"We are a team, that's why we win the games. We tried very hard to advance and now it is impossible to lose the gold medal," said Aldo Montano, who won the gold medal of the individual event.

After tying 44-44, France's Damien Touya was injured on his right hand on a non-valid attack against American Keeth Smart.

The match was resumed after 9:46 minutes break as the right-handed Touya had a court-side bandage. The two roused to another two non-valid strikes before Touya won the referee on their third clash.

Touya went to the medical room for more treatment after the game. "I don't know if I can play in the final until after a few hours," he said.

His brother, Gael, said, "when my brother got injured I felt very bad. It was a very emotional moment for me. I left the court because I could not see it any more."

"I don't know how serious the injure is or whether he will be able to play at the final," he added.

Hungary finished fifth, the same results as they did in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, after a 45-40 win over Ukraine, while China taking the seventh place with a 45-42 win over Greece.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2004)