First, we managed to win a fantastic, historic individual bronze medal at the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong on Sunday, thanks to Katinka Sugár Battai, a student majoring in Recreation and Lifestyle at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Debrecen. Then, we could continue to cheer for the Hungarian women’s team.
From our perspective, the outstanding performance of the Hungarian national women’s fencing team, composed of Katinka Sugár Battai, Luca Szűcs, Renáta Katona and Anna Spiesz, was of particular significance not only because of Sugi (nickname for Sugár), but also because the team was coached during this competition by László Dávid, the head coach of DEAC (Athletic Club of the University of Debrecen) fencing.
Our girls started off in the round of 16, where they defeated Azerbaijan 45–32. In this round, the DEAC star was the Hungarian team’s top performer with 10 extra touches. Next up was Japan, to whom we had recently lost by one point in the bronze medal match at the World Cup in Athens. This time, however, our team delivered a much more convincing performance and won confidently 45–36. Sugi once again led the team, finishing with a +5-touch margin.
In the semifinals, we faced our eternal rivals, the French team. As expected, the bouts on the strip were very closely contested, with narrow, hard-fought scores. After the first three bouts, our team was still in the lead (15–14), but the descendants of the ancient Gauls managed to turn the tide (18–20). After the sixth match, trailing by two points, the DEAC fencer took the strip and performed fantastically against Sarah Noutcha, leaving the score for Anna Spiesz with a 30–28 lead. The contest was extremely tight, with the lead shifting back and forth between the Hungarian and the French. As the final fencer, Sugi had to face Sara Balzer, the silver medalist in the individual event at this World Championship. In an extremely tense situation tied at 44–44, DEAC’s rising star landed the final touch, taking the Hungarian national team to the final.
So, the million-dollar question was whether Hungary could once again have a women’s saber team winning the World Championships after the successes in 2022 and 2023. This time, our team, led by László Dávid, faced China in the match for the gold medal.
In the final, we did not start well, to say the least. Sugár Battai fell behind 0–3 against Pan, and although she managed to close the gap, the Chinese led 2–5 at the break. They continued to fence with great confidence after this, pulling ahead 11–3. However, at that point, Luca Szűcs stepped up and turned the tide, so we headed into the second half with a 15–13 lead. Anna Spiesz could hold onto this lead (20–18) against Pan, following which Sugár Battai found her good shape again, pushing our national team ahead 25–20. From that point on, they managed to hold onto the lead until the very end, with great determination and at ease, ultimately winning 45–41.
Thus, the Hungarian women’s saber team members are now the reigning world champions, and the medal they won was the only gold for Hungary at the World Championships in Hong Kong. Since the team included DEAC fencer Sugár Battai and coach László Dávid, we are extremely proud.
Fencing World Championships, senior saber team, Hong Kong
Round of 16: Hungary–Azerbaijan 45–32 (Battai +10, Szűcs +4, Spiesz +1, Katona -2)
Quarterfinals: Hungary–Japan 45–36 (Battai +5, Szűcs +4, Spiesz 0)
Semifinal: Hungary–France 45–44 (Battai +5, Spiesz 0, Szűcs -4)
Final: Hungary–China 45–41 (Szűcs +5, Battai 0, Spiesz -1)
Photo credits: Eva Pavía #bizziteam – FIE