Paris, 30 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Fencer Olga Kharlan claimed a first medal for Ukraine at the Paris Games in the fencing event on Monday.

The 2008 Beijing champion took bronze after she defeated South Korea’s Choi Sibin 15-13 in the women's sabre.

"I hope some little girl sees me and, in the future, she will know and want to be an Olympic champion, a five-time Olympic medallist," she said.

"I brought a medal to my country, and it’s the first one. And it’s going to be a good start for all our athletes here. Because it’s really tough to compete when your country is at war. My country goes through (a) really horrible time. But we are staying strong," she added.

Kharlan dedicated her medal to the defenders and "the athletes who can’t come, because they were killed by Russia."

Gold went to Manon Brunet, who won the all-French final against Sara Balzer.

In the men's foil, Cheung Ka Long defeated Italy's Filippo Macchi to give Hong Kong a second fencing gold, following Vivian Kong's win in the women's epee.

Nick Itkin of the United States took bronze.

Kharlan overcomes 2023 world championships incident

Last year, Kharlan was disqualified during the fencing world championships in Milan after she refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Anna Smirnova after defeating her in the sabre competition due to Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Fencing rules state that competitors must shake hands after a bout. Smirnova extended her hand to greet Kharlan, who in return simply held out her sabre toward the Russian.

Smirnova then staged a 45-minute protest after the incident, refusing to leave the piste.

The decision to disqualify Kharlan, however, was reversed by fencing ruling body FIE. The individual event had already been concluded, but she was allowed to participate in the team competition.

She was also awarded a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.