Last assault on Olympic qualification: saber rattling to go to Paris
The saber does not want to miss
Last Assault
The’last assault on Olympic Qualification. Italian fencing will give it; Sunday, March 24, at the sunset of the men’s saber World Cup stage scheduled in Budapest and that will begin Friday and Saturday with the two days dedicated to the individual competition. The highlight will be on Sunday, with the saber team event that will put the passes for Paris 2024 up for grabs. The finish dà right to compete in the individual competition of the’Olympiad with the maximum number of three athletes, plus a reserve for the team competition.
A great goal
The Italian saber of coach Nicola Zanotti last Sunday detached its “Olympic card” in women’s fencing, and is now aiming to repeat with the men by playing everything on the Magyar platforms, in the’last World Cup event valid for the Qualification. A great goal for Italian fencing, which at the moment has tickets to the Paris Games in its pocket in five out of six specialties (first qualified the women’s and men’s foil, then the men’s and women’s epee, then the saberists).
Parla Zanotti
“In Belgium with the girls we unloaded the adrenaline and released the joy for a long-chased and deserved goal, never giving up, as a true team. I expect the same from our boys in this appointment in Budapest to which we arrive as the best European national team, immediately in the wake of the top 4 in the world rankings, and we will have to try to consolidate by offering a performance of great depth”, said the coach of the Italian saber ahead of Sunday’s competition.
We start with the individual test
On the Hungarian platforms, però they will start as always with the individual test. From Friday’s day of preliminaries, Luigi Samele and Luca Curatoli, among the top 16 in the world, are exempt by right of ranking, while ten other Azzurri will be immediately on the platform to win a place in the main draw, which will be staged on Saturday: Michele Gallo, Pietro Torre, Enrico Berrè, Dario Cavaliere, Giacomo Mignuzzi, Giovanni Repetti, Francesco Bonsanto, Edoardo Cantini, Daniele Franciosa and Mattia Rea. On Sunday the team competition, decisive for the Olympic pass, in which Italy will line up with the quartet composed of Luigi Samele, Luca Curatoli, Michele Gallo and Pietro Torre.
Azzi present
In Budapest, where Federal President Paolo Azzi will also be present (already in the wake of the female sabre fencers in the last stages of Athens and Sint-Niklaas), the blue group will be led by technical commissioner Nicola Zanotti, flanked by staff masters Leonardo Caserta and Alessandro Di Agostino and physiotherapist Andrea Giannattasio.
