2008 Paralympic Games

Day 1 - Sept. 14

BEIJING, China - Scott Rodgers (San Diego, Calif.) advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's individual foil category B before losing to China's Daoliang Hu to highlight the opening day of competition Sunday. A three-time Paralympian, Rodgers finished fourth in the event in 2004 and seventh in 2000.

After advancing from a competitive morning preliminary pool with two wins and three losses, Rodgers defeated Athens double medalist Piotr Czop from Poland 15-11 in the Round of 16. Then in the quarterfinals, the U.S. fencer had a four-touch lead, but couldn't maintain the upper body strength to close the door against Hu.

"I thought I had it, but I ran out of gas at the end," said Rodgers. "I wasn't exploding out of it like I was in the beginning. The challenge is to use what you've got. The Chinese fencers have become a tough group. I saw him in Athens at the 2004 Paralympic Games and he is one of their good guys."

"We could have done better and we probably should have done better," said coach Michael D'Asaro. "Scott fought really hard in that bout. Unfortunately his arm got tired toward the end and he started to fade."

Also competing in the men's individual foil category B, Gerard Moreno (Los Angeles, Calif.) did not advance from his preliminary pool. The three-time Paralympian and oldest competitor in the field at 51 years old, defeated Korea's Kim Gi-Hong 5-4 in his second bout, but failed to tally enough touches in the other match-ups to secure a spot in the Round of 16.

"I was in a tough pool," said Moreno. "My point control was a little off and my indicators just weren't high enough to advance. I tried to stay focused in competition today and succeeded in beating the person that was seeded lower than I was. I am stronger in sabre competition."

In men's individual foil category A, Mark Calhoun (Bremen, Ga.) won his first bout in the morning pool 5-4 against Poland's Stefan Makowski. He proceeded to lose the next four bouts and did not advance to the rounds.

"Overall, I had some good bouts and some bad bouts. It's the way of the game," said Calhoun.

Andrea DeMello (New York, N.Y.), a four-time Paralympian who competed for Brazil in 1996, 2000 and 2004, lost 0-5 and did not advance out of the preliminary pool.

A total of ten events will be contested in wheelchair fencing at the 2008 Paralympic Games, with 84 athletes from 19 countries competing in individual categories A and B of men's foil, epee and sabre and women's foil and epee.