Two-time world champion student of the University of Debrecen

Katinka Battai Sugár, a member of the Hungarian women's fencing team, is now a two-time world champion after winning the gold medal at the World Fencing Championships in Milan on Sunday. The DEAC fencer, a student of the University of Debrecen's Faculty of Economics and Business Administration majoring in Recreation and Lifestyle, has taken a big step towards Olympic participation in Paris.

On Saturday, the team of Katinka Battai Sugár, Anna Márton, Liza Pusztai, Luca Szűcs and Katinka Márton, entered the 16th round of the World Fencing Championships in Milan as the first seeded team.

The eighth-finals against the Poles did not start well, the Hungarian team was four points behind in the first set, but managed to turn the match around in the second. After the fourth game, the opponent took the lead by one more point, but the DEAC fencer, Katinka Battai Sugár, had an ecellent game, and, led by her, our team quickly took back the lead, which they kept, and the final score was 45:39.

On Sunday morning, our team fought against Greece for the semifinal. After the first three sets the difference between the two teams was minimal, but after that the Hungarian girls became more and more confident and finally won 45:35.

To get to the final led they had to beat South Korea. The Hungarian national team overcame this obstacle, leading almost all the way to win 45:39.

In the final, we met the French, who had beaten the Ukrainians, just like a year ago at the World Championships in Cairo. The Hungarian national team won the event then, and we were ready for a title defence. The French won the first service game 5:2, then Liza Pusztai was replaced by Katinka Battai Sugár, who almost equalized the match, but Balzer had a good game, so the opponents were 10:7 ahead in the third game. After that, there was always a difference of four to five touches between the two teams, but in the 7th assault, the DEAC heroine took the lead! After that Anna Márton also played a great match and at 40:34 she gave her place to the last person, Liza Pusztai, who secured victory, the score was 45:38. The Hungarian sword team is the world champion again this year after 2022!
 


With this success, the Hungarians have taken a big step towards the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as the World Championships is the most important competition of the one-year Olympic qualification period from April to April, and the result achieved here and the points gained - with a double multiplier in team events compared to the World Cup - will definitely be included in the overall standings.

World Fencing Championships, Milan

team, sword

Hungary-Poland 45:39 (Battai +5, Márton +2, Pusztai 0, Szűcs -1)

Quarter-final: Hungary-Greece 45:35 (Szűcs +9, Márton +3, Pusztai +1, Battai -3)
Semi-final: Hungary-South Korea 45:39 (Pusztai +5, Szűcs +1, Battai 0)
Hungary vs France 45:38 (Márton +10, Battai +4, Szűcs -2, Pusztai -5)

MTI Press Centre/DEAC