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
The Hungarian men’s fencing team won the gold medal on Friday at the Olympic qualification fencing World Championships in Milan with a triumph over South Korea.
The team consisting of Áron Szilágyi, András Szatmári, Csanád Gémesi, Tamás Decsi beat Mexico 45-11 and Turkey 45-41 on Thursday, then won 45-25 against Japan in the quarter-finals and 45-36 against this year’s European champions France in the last four on Friday.
The gold medal came against the four-time winners in a row South Korea, who Hungary had lost to in the previous two World Cup finals. But this time they won 45-42 with a very concentrated fencing.
Áron Szilágyi celebrates after his win over Oh San-Guk. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
Szatmári lost 5-4 in the first set against Oh San-Guk, then Szilágyi turned the match around against Gu Bon Gil. In the middle of the round, at 5-7, he cut his opponent spectacularly, but the machine did not signal and Gunak had to change his opponent’s lame. Gémesi then won by one against Kim Jung Ho – whose left leg was later iced several times – and Szatmári beat Gu by two to make the score 20-16. Gémesi’s next set failed, but the 0-6 score did not break the Hungarians, and Szilágyi’s next set even increased the gap by one. The last three matches were won by the Hungarians, first Gémesi and then Szatmári played sensationally – the latter won three service games and finally Szilágyi finished the match against Oh.
The victory was well-deserved after the defeats suffered by the South Koreans in recent years, and there was great joy on the court and in the stands.
The Hungarian sword team finished the sixth World Championships in a row with a medal.
In the previous five, they finished second four times and third once: they lost to Russia in 2016, South Korea in 2017 (22-45), 2019 (44-45) and 2022 (37-45) in the final, and won bronze in 2018.
Áron Szilágyi, András Szatmári, Csanád Gémesi, Tamás Decsi celebrate after their win. MTI/Illyés Tibor
The last time the Hungarian men’s national sword team won the world championship was in 2007 in St Petersburg, when Szilágyi and Decsi were also part of the team. The men’s fencers won the third medal of the Hungarian delegation in Milan, with Áron Szilágyi finishing third in the individual event and Máté Koch in the duel event.
With this triumph, the Hungarians have taken a big step towards Olympic participation in Paris, because they were already in the qualification places, and the World Championships are the most important competition of the one-year Olympic qualification period from April to April.
Via MTI, Featured Image: MTI/Illyés Tibor