BEIJING, 19 April - The men's individual foil event at the Good Luck Beijing fencing event will feature nine of the top 10 world ranked fencers, including great rivals Peter Joppich of Germany, the three time world champion, and Andrea Baldini of Italy.

At the past two world championships, in St Petersburg, Russia, in 2007, and Turin, Italy, in 2006, Joppich has eclipsed the Italian to take the title, and now sits in forth place on the alltime medal table, with three world titles.

The competition is expected to be fierce, with three Italians ranked in the top six in the world: Baldini, Salvatore Sanzo and Andrea Cassara. As well, the Italians totally dominated the recent World Team Foil Championships on Friday, winning gold against the Germans, with Cassara in sparkling form.

Sanzo himself is also the 2005 World Champion, having beaten China's Zhang Liangliang in the final.

France, a traditional power in this event, will be looking to their fencers to restore some pride after their shock early elimination on Friday despite being the three time-in-a-row world champions.

Erwan Lepechoux -- ranked 4th in the world -- and teammates Brice Guyart and Gregory Koening will be looking for revenge after Friday's performance.

Hosts China have a solid contingent, with Lei Sheng, Zhu Jun and Zhang Liangliang currently ranked 8th, 10th and 11th in the world.

While this event is not a world championship, the past record in this event at world championships since 1937 show that France and Italy both dominate, with 10 gold medals apiece.

Competition will be held on Sunday, 20 April, with bouts starting at 09:00 and scheduled through the final at 20:50hrs.