Fencing: South Korean Shin Lam to take a medal home after all

South Korean fencer Shin Lam refused to leave the piste when she lost to a German opponent after a controversial last-second blow in the epee semi-finals (Getty Images)

Sit-down fencer Shin A-lam will be going home with a real Olympic medal after all.

The 25-year-old South Korean picked herself up in every sense at the ExCeL today after controversially being denied a place in the final of the individual epee on Monday night.

Tearful Shin had remained sat on the piste then for over an hour while protests and appeals were made on her behalf - all to no avail - when the clock was reset from zero to one second and she lost.

The world number nine then lost a bronze medal match, but, back for the team event, the 10th-ranked Koreans thrashed top seeds Romania 45-38 to reach the semi-finals and then beat fifth-ranked United States 45-36.

And Shin, offered a 'special' award by fencing's governing body because of what happened to her, won all her six three-minute contests in the two matches.

South Korea were left to face China for the gold after they won a semi-final thriller against Russia 20-19 in sudden death.

PA