(Beijing, April 18) In one of the classification 5-8 matches held at the Fencing Hall of the National Conference Center this afternoon, China clinched a narrow win of 45-44 over three-time world champions France and will face Japan to via for the fifth place.

China's Lei Sheng opened the match with a bout of 5-3 against France's Terence Joubert. The Chinese then extended their lead 10-4 and 15-8 in the following two bouts.

After six bouts China maintained its lead with 30-21. The seventh bout turned out to be a turning point for France, as China's Zhu Jun lost to Brice Guyart 2-11 and the score stood 32 all. French then lost no time in outscoring China 40-39 after the eighth bout.

The last bout saw China's Lei Sheng withstanding the pressure, rallying from three hits behind to earn four match points in a row from his French opponent Erwan Lepechoux before clinching the match by a narrow margin of one hit.