The Hungarian national team won silver medal in Budapest at the Men's Sabre Team World Cup while in Egypt both the women's saber- and men's épée team were successful.Continue reading
Hungarian fencers put in a triumphant performance at this year’s European Championships in Genoa, Italy. The delegation returned home with four medals, including one silver and three bronze, showcasing the impressive strength of Hungarian fencing.
Flóra Pásztor got off to a strong start on Saturday by winning a bronze medal in foil. She placed second at the 2023 European Games and eighth at the previous Olympic Games, and again delivered a standout performance. After a confident group stage in which she won five matches and lost only one, she advanced directly to the round of 32. Her path to the semifinals included victories over Poland’s Karolina Zurawska, France’s Pauline Ranvier, and Ukraine’s Dariia Myroniuk.
In the semifinals, Pásztor faced France’s Eva Lacheray. Although the Hungarian fencer scored the first hit, her opponent turned the tide and pulled ahead. Despite several attempts, Pásztor was unable to turn things around and had to admit defeat.
Nevertheless, her bronze medal was the first for the Hungarian delegation and a promising start to the European Championships.
On Saturday evening, Áron Szilágyi provided another highlight. The three-time Olympic individual champion, world and European champion in sabre, returned after Achilles tendon repair surgery last September, and a lengthy break from competition in May. With five wins and only one defeat in the group stage, he advanced directly to the round of 32. He impressed everyone with his tactical fencing against Poland’s Olaf Stasiak, confidently defeated Russia’s Dmitriy Danilenko, and dominated Romania’s Vlad Covaliu in the quarterfinals.
In the battle for the final, the Hungarian fencer faced Jean-Philippe Patrice from France, who is fourth in the world ranking. With unwavering momentum and determined fencing, Szilágyi confidently won this bout. In the final, he faced Rémi Garrigue from France. The Hungarian athlete started strongly and took an 8-3 lead. After the break, however, the young Garrigue changed his rhythm, caught up, and ultimately won 15-11.
Despite the narrow defeat in the final, Szilágyi secured an impressive silver medal, the second for Hungary.
Sunday brought two more bronze medals for Hungary. Gergely Siklósi, Olympic team champion and 2019 individual world champion in épée, fought his way to the semifinals. There he faced Roman Svichkar from Ukraine. The bout was characterized by tactical patience, with few hits in the first two thirds. Gergely Siklósi took the lead at one point, but his opponent kept equalizing. In overtime, which favored the Ukrainian, Svichkar scored the decisive hit and won.
Siklósi expressed disappointment at losing the fight, but was nevertheless satisfied with the medal.
My goal was to finish in the top four. The hidden goal was, of course, to improve on last year’s result and win gold. Maybe I can improve at the World Championships in the individual competition,”
he explained.
Shortly afterwards, Sugár Battai followed suit, also winning bronze in the women’s sabre. The two-time world champion in team won an individual medal at a European Championship for the first time in her career. After a strong group stage, she eliminated Georgia’s Alexandra Kuvaeva, Greece’s world championship runner-up and third-place finisher Despina Georgiadou, and Spain’s Lucia Martin-Portugues to advance to the semifinals. There she faced France’s Sarah Noutcha. Although Battai led in the first half of the bout, Noutcha turned the tide and won 15-9.
I am always disappointed after losing a bout, but I felt that I fenced well all day. I am satisfied because I was able to win a medal,”
Battai said after the match, self-critical but also satisfied.
The four medals in Genoa are a clear sign of the strength and potential of Hungarian fencers. The athletes have impressively proven that they can compete at the international level and give hope for further success in the future.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor