Great Britain won the Team gold medal, while the Republic of Korea and Brazil both earned Pairs titles in action at the Fencing Hall on Friday, September 12.
TEAM BC1/2
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British team in the final.[Xinhua]
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British trio Nigel Murray, Dan Bentley and David Smith were at their best, beating defending champions Portugal 8-4 to win the gold medal. Two precise throws from Smith, the youngest member of the team, gave Britain a 6-1 lead in the third end. Led by Murray, the Individual BC2 gold medalist in Sydney and silver medalist in Beijing, the World No. 1 team closed out the game with clever tactical play, blocking channels where Portugal might have added points.
The result was a disappointment for Portugal's Joao Paulo Fernandes, who was targeting an unprecedented consecutive double gold medal to match his effort in Athens.
"It means absolutely everything. I can't even begin to describe this feeling. At last we can say we're No. 1," Smith said after the win. "We've worked so hard for it -- now we've got it. And we're going to try to defend it in 2012."
Spain won the bronze medal, hanging on for a tight 5-4 win over the spirited Chinese team. The win gave Manuel Angel Martin his second bronze, adding to the Individual BC 2 medal he won on Tuesday. His teammates Pedro Cordero, Jose Vaquerizo and World No. 1 Javier Francisco Beltran had won the Team bronze medal in Athens, and this is the fifth consecutive Paralympics in which Spain has won a medal in the Team event.