WORLD CUP COMPETITION, EGER, HUNGARY

This report from the World Cup Competition in Eger, Hungary, was originally published on the British Disability Fencing website and has been replicated on the BF site, after BDF transferred responsibilities to BF in April 2022. 

Day One

The penultimate World Cup for the qualifying period brought fencers together in Eger, Hungary,   in Mid February, at a time of uncertainty, as the Coronavirus had hit the Far East countries. As a result there were no athletes from China, and none from Iraq.

On day one Piers Gilliver in the Cat A sabre had 6 pool victories, and was ranked 1 in the tableau of 64. Mat Campbell-Hill in the same event had 2 pool victories, and was ranked 30. In the Direct Elimination Mat met Karpov and lost 15-8. Piers met Cheong and won 15-10, and went on to meet Noble, beating him 15-6. In the quarter finals he beat Schmidt of Germany, 15-10. In the semi-finals he lost 15-7 to Dronov of Russia and had to settle for the bronze medal.

In the Cat B foil Dimitri Coutya had 6 pool victories and was ranked 1 in the tableau of 32. In the Last 16 Dimitri beat Fujita 15-8 and went on the face Khamatshin in the quarterfinals. It resulted in victory to Dimitri 15-7. In the semifinals he beat Kamalov of Russia 15-9, to set up a final against Gaworski of Poland, which Dimitri won 15-11.

Gemma Collis McCann fenced with confidence in the women’s Cat A epee, taking 4 pool victories in the preliminary rounds. She was ranked 8 in the tableau of 32, and beat Nakprasit of Thailand 15-7 in the DE. She went on to beat Poignet of France 15-12 in the Last 16 but lost 15-4 to Maya of Russia in the quarterfinals.

Day Two

Oliver Lam-Watson and Josh Waddell fenced in the Cat A foil. They both had 2 victories in the pools, and were ranked 23 and 24 in the tableau of 64. They both progressed to the Last 32 where Josh lost to Yusupov, 15-4, and Ollie beat Tokatlian of France 15-13. In the Last 16 Ollie lost to Akkaya of Turkey 15-2 after sustaining an injury.

In the Cat B epee Dimitri finished the pools with 5 victories and one loss. He was ranked 3 in the tableau of 32 and progressed to the Last 16 where he was beaten 15-12 by Pranevich.

Day Three

On day 3 Piers, Josh, Ollie and Mat all fenced in the Cat A epee. After poules Piers was ranked 1, Ollie 19, Josh 25 and Mat 37, in the tableau of 64. Only Piers progressed to the Last 32, where he met and beat Sasajima of Japan, 15-2. In the Last 16 he beat Calka of Poland 15-5, and in the quarterfinals he beat Mahula of Ukraine, 15-2. In the semi finals Piers beat Schmidt of Germany 15-5, to set up a final against his old adversary, Shaburov of Russia. On this occasion Piers was victorious 15-9.

Shah Rashid fenced in the Cat B sabre. He had 3 victories in the pools and was ranked 12th in the tableau of 32, earning a bye through to the Last 16. In his Direct Elimination he met the top Italian fencer Marco Cima. It was a close fought match with Shah winning 15-12. In the quarter finals he met Kurzin of Russia, and lost 15-5. His final position was 8th.

Day Four

On day 4 GB fenced in the Men’s Sabre Team event. Starting the competition ranked 9 of 10. The first match pitched GB against France. Great Britain led from start to finish winning 45-34. However, that was the only success of the day. They lost 45-43 against Italy, which was a fantastic effort. They then lost 45-41 to Poland. In the final match against Germany there was a change in team personnel and order, and they lost 45-34, but a great effort by Shah who scored the most points, and a very creditable performance by Ollie with 12 points.

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