Italian national team won the men’s team tournament at the FIE World Cup in Kazan and Russian and Ukrainian teams got the licenses for the Olympic Games
The end of the team tournament at the FIE World Cup leg in Kazan was marked by the victory of the Italian male fencers. In the tight combat of the finals, they turned out stronger than the Ukrainians – 44:43. In the third-place match, Russia was inferior to China – 39:45 but managed to make it through to the Olympic Games.
Competition day commenced with quarterfinals that came out very exciting. The second seed Switzerland was surpassing Russians for a long time but thanks to Sergey Bida Russia snatched victory from the jaws of defeat – 33:29. The fight of the Korean and Italian teams was no less spectacular – champions-to-be won 44:40 but made their rivals nervous.
The tournament hosts failed to make it to the finals. Andrea Santarelli and Enrico Garozzo brought advantage to the Italian team in the middle of the match, and Russian fencers did not manage to retrieve the defeat, although they were close to the victory. The positive side of the match is that despite the defeat they secured a berth at the Olympics to be held in Tokyo in 2021. The team of China and Ukraine represented another semifinal pair, and in the face-to-face competition, the Ukrainians pulled out a victory with a 39:36 score.
Ukraine was leading in the finals with a 10-point advantage but the Italians showed some spirit. In the last match, Marco Fichera outscored Anatolii Herey 14:6 and handed a win to his team.
“We are happy with the team competitions results. Quarantine did not pass us by in terms of sport. This was the first competition over a long while; we have been waiting for them for the whole year. We are deeply grateful to the organisers and happy with the result despite a bitter defeat in the final. We completed our main goal having obtained the tickets to the Olympics. It was hard to fence in both individual and team events. The World Cup organization was at the highest level,” Bogdan Nikishin from Ukraine shared his emotions.
“Unbelievable match with a fantastic victory at the very end. I congratulate my team and entire Italy! It was a strange feeling not having a chance to compete for the whole year. I had to keep concentrated and calm at the same time. I was so glad that fencing has finally come back!” Andrea Santarelli from the Italian team announced.
Press Office of Directorate for Sports and Social Projects