In the final, the Hungarians fought the French just as they did a year ago.Continue reading
The Hungarian women’s fencing team finished seventh at the World Cup in Athens on Sunday, and with this and other results their participation in the Paris Olympics is now assured.
Before the tournament in Greece, the world champion Hungarian team was in second place, this time losing in the quarter-finals to the Ukrainians, who were also fighting for a quota and later finished with a silver medal, but – as reported by hunfencing.hu – the other results showed that the Hungarian team’s participation in the Olympic Games is no longer in danger.
Anna Márton, who returned to the international stage after her second knee operation in October, and Liza Pusztai, Sugár Battai and Luca Szűcs, beat the Greeks 45-26, before losing 45-31 to the Ukrainians. In the continuation, they were defeated by South Korea 45-42 in a close match, before finally beating the Americans 45-39.
This tournament was not about winning medals, that will come at the Olympics. It was for a quota and thank God we got it.
We really struggled for it, the pressure was great, but we pulled ourselves together and got it,” Anna Márton told M1 news channel. She also stressed that they have proven time and again that they have the gold medal in them, and that they can beat anyone.
“We really want to be as free in the Olympics as we were at the World Championships, we want to enjoy fencing. We do not want to be like we were in this tournament, where the pressure is not allowing us to give our best. We have all the skills, all the help we need to be at our best at the Olympics and that could mean a gold medal for us,” she added.
Gábor Gárdos, the head coach of the women’s fencing team, pointed out that the situation is such that they cannot be eliminated from the Olympics, even if they do not score a single point in the remaining competition. “The Olympics is a different competition, it is very difficult to qualify for,” he said, explaining the slightly weaker performance. There is one team event left in the one-year qualification period, which will be held in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, in two weeks’ time.
The team qualification means that three fencers can compete in the individual event.
Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Hungarian Fencing Federation / Magyar Vívó Szövetség
