(Beijing, April 19) On the second day of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 FIE World Championships, China and France beat Germany and Poland respectively to advance to the women's team epee final.

The women's team epee semifinals were held at the Fencing Hall of the National Conference Center this afternoon. In the match between China and Germany, the score was tied at 3 all and 6 all after the first two bouts. China's Luo Xiaojuan began to lead by 8-6 in the third, followed by teammate Li Na who extended the lead to 14-11 in the fourth.

China led the following three bouts with 16-13, 20-15 and 23-20. Germany then rallied to equalize the score at 24 in the eighth. In the ninth round, neither teams scored within three minutes, resulting in a prolongation. Luo scored a precious hit at the critical moment to send her team into the final by a narrow margin of one hit over Germany.

In another semifinal match between France and Poland, France edged Poland 35-32 after nine bouts to set up a final clash against China this evening.