Hong Kong's fencing king Edgar Cheung defended his Olympic gold medal in men's foil in dramatic fashion after making a brilliant comeback in the final match against Italian Filippo Macchi in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Italian pulled ahead 14-12, but Cheung immediately gained two points to bring the game into a tie-breaker for the gold.

With the score tied at 14-14, the fencing got even more intense.

On two occasions, both fencers thought they had won the last point, but the judges said it was too close to rule.

After three attempts to break the tie, Cheung took home the win for Hong Kong, China.

Cheung said he couldn't believe he's the first athlete to repeat in men's foil in 68 years.

"I still can't believe [that I've won]...and being the first man to repeat in so long, actually, I really rather can't believe it," he told reporters.

"It's one of the best moments in my life. To have a gold medal in France, with a French coach, for me it's a wonderful day."

Cheung said he woke up not feeling too good, but when he fenced, it was different.

He said coach Greg Koenig told him not to focus on the judges' decisions late in the game, and focus on the next move.

The coach, for his part, said he never doubted that Cheung could overcome his deficit at 12-14.

"The three last points, to be honest, I know he can do it. I will stay positive. I will send him my maximum positive energy because I know, three points in a row for him is absolutely nothing," Koenig said.

The victory helped him claim his second gold in as many Games and becomes the first athlete from the SAR to grab consecutive Olympic titles.

Hong Kong now has two gold medals in Paris, both in fencing, the most ever won at a single Games so far.

After the match, the Italian Fencing Federation has lodged an official complaint with the International Fencing Federation and the International Olympic Committee over what it considers to be unacceptable refereeing decisions.

Federation President Paolo Azzi expressed his disappointment at the conclusion of the competition, claiming that Macchi was the rightful winner and had been unfairly denied the gold medal he deserved.
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Last updated: 2024-07-30 HKT 13:41