The change of generations Romanian fencing has been going through fatally took its toll on Romanian fencing’s recent results at international
level. We recall that that the Romanian delegation had a zero-medal tally at
the European Championships held in Antalya, Turkey, in June. Little wonder then
that the expectations for the World Championships in Cairo were low. At the
event in Egypt, Romania had full teams for the men’s and women’s saber as well
as in women’s foil and women’s epee events. Also, two other fencers
participated in the men’s individual epee event. The set
target was for the respective team to be placed on one of the first six
positions at least in one single event. Sabre fencers were the favorites to meeting
the set target. We recall that at the European championships the team came in 5th,
while Răzvan Ursachi and Iulian Teodosiu had been 5th and 6th
placed, respectively, in the individual events.
Exceeding all expectations, Romanian fencers succeeded to win two bronze
medals, both in individual events. In the sabre event, Iulian Teodosiu stepped
onto the third step of the podium, while Maria Boldor came in 3rd in
the foil event. It was just expected from Teodosiu to succeed that. Iulian Teodosiu
had already won three medals in nations’ competitions, in 2013, when the team
won silver at the World Championships, in 2016, when the team won bronze, also
in the World Championships, and also in 2016, when the Romanians won another
bronze medal, this time in the European Championships. Foil fencer Maria Boldor used to have a constant and an apparently
unassuming position among the world’s top 100 fencers, being placed somewhere around
the 100th position. 26-year world Maria Boldor did not have exceptional
results on the record, although she had competed in a great number of events ever
since she was 17. However, her notable result in an individual event in Cairo earned Maria
Boldor the 19th place according to the world rankings. The Romanian
is also entitled to keeping her hopes high for the 2024 edition of the Olympic
Games in Paris.
In Cairo, the Romanian teams’ run was utterly disappointing. In the men’s
sabre event, with Iulian Teodosiu and Răzvan Ursachi on the line-up, the
Romanians were defeated in the very first round and came in 17th
according to the final rankings. In women’s sabre, Romania was also defeated,
again in the very first round, by Kazakhstan, and came in 18th. In
the women’s foil event, with Maria Boldor fighting, the Romanians were
outclassed by Singapore, also in the very first round, coming in 20th
according to the final rankings. The women’s epee team was the only Romanian team to have lasted beyond the competition’s first round, when they defeated
Canada yet losing to Italy, the bronze medalists in Tokyo. In the 9-16
places tournament, Romania overpowered China, lost to Estonia and eventually
defeated Egypt, coming in 11th according to the final rankings. A disappointing
result, given that in 2016, the epee event earned Romania gold at the Olympic Games in
Rio, in the nations’ competition, and silver in the individual event, in Tokyo,
in 2021.(EN)
