Iranian sabreur Ali Pakdaman clinched the bronze medal of Championnats Asiatiques (Asian Fencing Championships) in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday.
After six wins in the preliminary stage, Pakdaman entered the main competition table. Resting in the first round, the Iranian beat Hin Chung Lam from Hong Kong 15-7, based on results on FIE.com portal.
The Iranian had a tough battle in his next match against Japanese fencer Kento Yoshida and overpowered him 15-13.
In his quarterfinal clash Pakdaman drew his sword against another sabreur of Japan Kenta Tokunan and beat him.
The win over Tokunan secured a place in the semis for Pakdaman against the Olympic gold winner Gu Bongil of powerhouse South Korea. The breathtaking clash went on with equal point 13 for both fencers to the last seconds as both played by the skin of their teeth to enter the finals.
According to ISNA, in the last moments the referees made a controversial decision which was faced with Iran head coach Peyman Fakhri’s strong objection.
The referees showed Pakdaman a red card for starting the game sooner than the due time after it was stopped near the last moments. So the South Korean fencer were given the winning points and ended Pakdaman’s hopes as he lost the match 15-13 to be eligible for bronze.
Finalist Bongil drew his sword against countrymate Kim Junghwan and won the game 15-12 to bag the gold medal of the continental tournament.
Pakdaman, 27, currently holds the ninth place of the FIE ranking in sabre category, climbing the table six places in the current season. He made his sport debut in 2008 in the World Cup event in Kish Island.
Mohammad Rahbari, Mojtaba Abedini and Mohammad Fotouhi also participated in the tournament but could not win medals.
