Britain’s Dimitri Coutya has won his first Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair fencing, in the men’s foil B category.

The world number one breathed a sigh of relief after beating China’s two-time reigning Paralympic champion Feng Yanke 15-7 at the Grand Palais.

The 26-year-old dominated the match from the start and quickly took an 8-4 lead before claiming victory by eight points.

On his way to the final, Coutya had already easily won against Dmytro Serozhenko from Ukraine in the semi-final: 15-4 and against Visit Kingmanaw from Thailand in the quarter-final: 15-5.

The wheelchair fencer’s Paralympic gold medal is an improvement on the bronze he won in the same event in Tokyo three years ago. It is a nice addition to the European titles in both the foil and epee B that he won in March and in 2022.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I can just breathe now,” Coutya said after the match.

“It’s something I’ve wanted for so long, and something I’ve been working on for so many years.

“After the disappointment in Tokyo I was very happy with the result (bronze), considering where I was. But above all I wanted that gold and that is something I have dedicated my life to in recent years.

“I don’t really realize it yet.”

Coutya, who trains at the University of Bath, said of his tactics against Feng: “I knew I had to beat him if I really wanted to win a Paralympic gold medal.

“He’s in top form, so I told myself to get into the best mindset possible and keep it going until the end. And that’s what happened in the match.”

Coutya, who is also ranked world number one in the B epee category, will be aiming for more gold medals in the men’s team quarter-finals on Thursday (11:40 BST), the individual B epee category on Friday (08:40) and the team quarter-finals on Saturday (11:40).