Áron Szilágyi was nominated by President Katalin Novák, who said that the Hungarian fencer is a role model for children and adults alike.Continue reading
Áron Szilágyi came in third place in the men’s fencing on Sunday on the first day of the fencing competitions at the European Games in Krakow.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist, World, and European champion Hungarian fencer met Sandro Bazadze in the game for the final. The Georgian world number one defended his European Championship title a week ago, while Szilágyi is the current Olympic and World Champion, so the two current best fought against each other in the first semi-final.
Szilágyi won 15-11 at the same stage of last year’s World Championships in Cairo and beat the Georgian fencer 15-14 in the World Cup final in Budapest in March.
This time, Bazadze proved to be the better player by two tries.
Áron Szilágyi. Photo via MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
In the beginning the scores alternated, then after a 3-3 tie, Bazadze scored two single shots, twice “scored” with video, but Szilágyi was also successful and surprised his opponent with two excellent tripos, so at the one-minute break the post was at 8-7 with a Hungarian lead. During the rest of the game, the match was close and it was obvious that the two fencers knew each other very well. Szilágyi got away to 13-10, but Bazadze did not give up, equalized, and then scored the last two kills.
A few minutes after the finish, Szilágyi mentioned in the mixed zone that he should have changed his strategy towards the end.
However, he was satisfied that he had played good matches, had come out victorious from difficult situations, and could return home with a medal.
Asked how important the individual competition was before the team event that counted towards Olympic qualification, he said it was relatively important.
I started this competition with my full attention and I will be working to achieve the best possible result,”
he stressed.
In fencing, the European Championships in the individual events were held in Plovdiv, Poland last week. The individual numbers from the European Games in Krakow do not count toward the Olympic qualification total. However, on the contrary, team events, which are European Championship events starting on Wednesday, do count for the qualifications.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt