Important that Israelis see their athletes at Olympics, says beaten fencer

Yuval Freilich's dream of Olympic glory in Paris lasted just nine minutes on Sunday, which the Israeli fencer told AFP was a "huge disappointment".

But he reflected that, "given the larger picture...it's a positive experience."

The 29-year-old has been accustomed to making history by becoming both the first Israeli man to be crowned European champion and the first to qualify in the epee for an Olympics.

However, despite being ranked seventh in Paris, Freilich went down to a surprise defeat to Italy's Andrea Santarelli, ranked some 19 places below him, in the last 32 round.

The Israel-born son of Australian parents was upset after losing, sobbing into the chest of one of his team's staff.

"At the moment there is huge disappointment and I am sure it will only get stronger as time goes by," he told AFP.

Freilich said he was proud to have qualified for the Olympics and he at least had his family with him to provide solace, but he said his defeat was small fry in contrast to what is happening at home where Israel is engaged in a war in Gaza which threatens to spread.

"I am proud to represent my country and it's important for my country to see that we have Israeli athletes representing them," he said.

"I think in the larger picture, if I put things in perspective, it's a positive experience."

Freilich refused to use the war as an excuse, although it has made training more complicated.

"It hasn't restricted us too much," he said.

"Before the war began we had sparring partners who would come with us to Israel and come train with us.

"Since the war began they couldn't so I had to travel abroad.

"But that's OK. It didn't impair my preparations in any way. The fact that I got here is a fantastic result."

- 'Clear my head' -

Freilich, one of six children, fell in love with fencing aged five. He was first inspired by his father, Gabby, who won him over by telling him it was "sword fighting".

He said he immediately had visions of the movies and "backflips, jumps and throwing the sword in the air and catching it".

However, reality dawned when he watched the sport at the 2000 Olympics.

"The idea of fencing started at the Sydney Olympics," said Freilich, whose parents returned to Israel from Australia in 2005.

"It would have been a nice way to close the circle had I got a medal here. But I haven't and I didn't.

"Fortunately, there are still more competitions to come. Hopefully next time I will be more successful."

The Olympic dream is not yet over as Freilich has expressed a hope to keep competing until the 2032 Brisbane Games.

"Epee fencers can be old," he said. "A few months ago I said that the plan is to go through to Brisbane.

"At the moment what I am going to do is go back to Israel, clean my room, clear my head and make the decisions."

Although his first Olympic experience ended in an early exit, he insisted he was "happy to be here", before adding ruefully: "I would have been happier for it to be a longer day."

The attack on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages during the attack, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,324 people, according to the territory's health ministry which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths.