Hungarian Richard Osvath defeats Damien Tokatlian of France for wheelchair fencing bronze

September 5, 2012

London, England&mdash; Tuesday night at London's ExCeL North Arena 2, Richard Osvath of Hungary defeated Damien Tokatlian of France in the men's individual foil category A bronze medal bout in the first medal matches of the London Paralympics Games. The Hungarian won by a score of 15 to 7 in a match where both players earned yellow cards and the judges spent time consulting mid-match.

Both competitors had enthusiastic supporters in the stadium, who cheered them on and waved large flags. Tokatlian earned loud cheers from the French sections of the crowd while Hungarian fans cheered Osvath by name. After the announcement that Osvath won bronze, a number of the fans stood and cheered.

Following his medal win, the native told the media, "It's a good beginning for my first Paralympics. When I got into the top four I was happy. The medal is a bonus." He described how he won by saying, "I tried to stab him very quickly and I did it 15 times."

London Paralympic fencing ends Saturday with medal bouts being held every day until then.