Fencing World Cup, Azzurri don’t give up and hit bronze in team saber

Bronze in men’s team saber

Fourth medal for Italy at the 2022 World Absolute Championships in Cairo. Rossella Fiamingo’s bronze in epee and Arianna Errigo and Tommaso Marini’s silvers in foil were joined by bronze for the men’s saber team.

Azzurri Luca Curatoli, Luigi Samele, Pietro Torre and Michele Gallo put a doggedly achieved, rousing bronze medal around their necks. The Italian quartet confirmed the Budapest 2019 result by winning the final for third place against Germany with a score of 45-42. At halftime the Teutonic men were leading 25-16, then a “monstrous” split by Luca Curatoli, who scored 14 hits, got the Azzurri back in the match. It was Luigi Samele’s close finish to deliver the bronze to the Azzurri: the Olympic silver medalist recovered from 38-40 to 45-42 and concretized the podium, from which Italy has not come down since 2017 (bronze 2017, silver 2018, bronze 2019, bronze 2022).

CT Nicola Zanotti’s boys had wins over Iran (45-24) and Hong Kong (45-23) on Wednesday, and today they started well against hosts Egypt, beaten 45-33. In the semifinals against Hungary then they were ahead as late as 40-39, but in the last fraction Olympic and world champion Aron Szilagyi made the difference and took the Magyars to the decisive act of the day.