Gilliver wins silver for GB in wheelchair fencing

Piers Gilliver claimed wheelchair fencing metallic for Great Britain successful nan men's sabre A arena astatine nan Paralympics successful Paris.

Gilliver was beaten 15-8 by Germany's Maurice Schmidt successful nan golden badge bout astatine nan Grand Palais.

Neither competitor led by much than 2 hits successful nan last until Schmidt, who trailed 8-7 astatine nan extremity of nan first period, registered 8 successive hits to clinch gold.

Gilliver had been a comfortable 15-8 victor complete Matteo dei Rossi of Italy successful his quarter-final, but his semi-final was a overmuch person affair, pinch nan Englishman coming from 8-3 down to hit Ukraine's Artem Manko 15-14.

The 29-year-old added Paralympic metallic to nan 2023 World Championship silver and nan European title he won earlier this twelvemonth successful nan sabre A category.

Gilliver, from nan Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, became Great Britain's first Paralympic golden medallist successful wheelchair fencing for 33 years erstwhile he won epee A golden successful Tokyo successful 2021.

He will take sides that title connected Friday, while he will besides beryllium competing successful nan men's foil squad and men's epee squad events.

Gilliver was 1 of 3 British wheelchair fencers successful action successful nan first of 5 days of title astatine nan Paralympics.

Dimitri Coutya narrowly mislaid his quarter-final title 15-13 to Poland's Adrian Castro successful nan men's sabre B and sewage to information 3 of nan repechage - which could person provided him pinch an opportunity to triumph a bronze badge - earlier losing 15-13 to Dmytro Serozhenko of Ukraine.

Coutya, who will return to action successful nan men's foil B connected Wednesday, told BBC Sport: "Even though location were immoderate very adjacent calls today, I mislaid adjacent and quadrate to group that are amended than me.

"In each honesty, fixed sabre isn't my favoured limb retired of nan 3 that I'm competing successful this week, I'm really happy pinch nan power and consistency of capacity I've shown."

Gemma Collis was beaten successful nan past 16 of nan women's sabre A and, for illustration Coutya, reached information 3 of nan repechage earlier losing 15-10 to Brianna Vide of France.

"Today was specified a mixed one," she said.

"The first information didn't spell precisely really I would person liked it to go. I went consecutive into nan repechage. But I deliberation location was ever a anticipation of that because I had specified an incredibly reliable tie successful nan past 16.

"But I was really proud of nan measurement I picked myself up for nan adjacent conflict successful nan repechage. That was a really convincing capacity and past different bully capacity against a apical fencer. I'm conscionable a small spot gutted pinch nan measurement it ended."

Collis will return to action connected Friday for nan epee A event.