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In the opening stage of the Fencing World Cup series in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, the Estonian women’s épée team, competing without a head coach, claimed victory in the team competition by defeating Olympic champion Italy 45:34 in the final.
In the opening match, the Estonian women’s épée team, consisting of Julia Beljajeva, Nelli Differt, Katrina Lehis and Irina Embrich, dominated the United Arab Emirates team with a decisive 45:14 victory.
In the round of 16, Estonia faced Hungary. After the sixth bout, Estonia led narrowly at 19:18. However, Embrich edged out Kinga Dekany 4:3 in the seventh bout, putting Estonia ahead 23:21. Lehis then extended the lead by defeating Dorina Wimmer, bringing the score to 27:22. In the final bout, Beljajeva took on Paris Olympic bronze medalist Eszter Muhari. Despite Muhari tying the score at 38:38 with just 14 seconds left, Beljajeva secured four consecutive touches, winning the match for Estonia 42:38, though she lost the individual bout 15:16.
In the quarterfinals, Estonia defeated South Korea 45:37. After the fourth bout, Estonia led 14:12. Differt widened the margin by beating Taehee Lim 6:2, pushing Estonia’s lead to 20:14. Embrich then extended it to 29:22. Although Lehis fell 2:4 to Hyein Lee in the next bout, Beljajeva closed with a 14:11 victory over Lim, ensuring a comfortable win for Estonia.
The semifinal against China ended with Estonia prevailing 40:29. A closely contested match saw Lehis create a gap, putting Estonia ahead 20:16 in the sixth bout. Embrich extended the lead further, besting Tang Junyao 8:3 for a 28:19 advantage. Lehis followed by leading 32:22, and Beljajeva sealed the match with an 8:7 win over Yu Sihan.
In the final, Estonia faced Italy, the reigning Olympic champion, albeit without their Paris gold medalists. Estonia competed without Embrich in the final. Initially, Lehis lost 1:2 to Federica Isola, and Beljajeva fell 2:4 to Lucrezia Paulis, leaving Estonia trailing 3:6 after two bouts. Differt turned things around by defeating Alessandra Bozza 5:2, tying the match at 8:8. Lehis then edged Paulis 2:1, followed by Differt’s 4:1 win over Isola, pushing Estonia ahead 14:10.
Beljajeva expanded the lead to 18:11, while Differt maintained it with a 4:1 victory over Paulis, making it 22:12 for Estonia. In the penultimate bout, Lehis outperformed Bozza 5:2, bringing the score to 27:14. Although Beljajeva narrowly lost 18:20 to Isola in the final bout, Estonia secured a dominant victory.
Meanwhile, in Bern, Switzerland, the Estonian men’s épée team of Kasper Tafenau, Sten Priinits and Markus Salm suffered a narrow 44:45 defeat to Venezuela in the top 32. Despite leading 38:36, Priinits fell 6:9 to Gabriel Lugo in the final bout, placing the Estonian men in 25th overall.
The next World Cup stage for both men and women will be held in Vancouver, Canada, in two weeks.
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Editor: Maarja Värv, Marcus Turovski
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