Left: Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Fencing – Individual sabre, women, table of 16 – Grand Palais, Paris, France – July 29, 2024. Misaki Emura of Japan reacts after losing her match.
Right: Italy’s Tommaso Marini reacts with France’s Maxime Pauty at the end of the men’s individual foil match in the round of 16, during the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Grand Palais, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France.
12:32 JST, July 30, 2024
July 29, 2024; Paris, France; Misaki Emura (JPN) in a women’s sabre match of 32 during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris at the Grand Palais.
PARIS (Reuters) – It was a day of carnage for the world number one fencing team at the Paris Olympics on Monday, with Japan’s Misaki Emura in the women’s sabre and Italy’s Tommaso Marini in the men’s foil both eliminated before the quarter-finals.
Emura, the 2022 and 2023 world champion, was knocked out in the round of 16 15-7 by 24th-seeded Choi Se-bin of South Korea.
“Today I didn’t fence properly and I’m very sad and upset because I didn’t do my best,” a stunned Emura told reporters.
“Everything: mind, body, tactics were not enough. I can do more. I think I had to train more, I was not a champion, not strong today. I feel very sorry for my supporters.”
Emura had a hard time in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. She won an exciting match 15-14 against Ukrainian Olena Kravatska.
Her departure clears the way for French favourite Sara Balzer, number two in the world, who also qualified for the semi-finals, where she will face Ukrainian Olga Kharlan.
Above: Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Fencing – Women’s Individual Sabre Table of 16 – Grand Palais, Paris, France – July 29, 2024. Sebin Choi of South Korea in action against Misaki Emura of Japan
Below: Misaki Emura from Japan responds.
Balzer’s compatriot Manon Apithy-Brunet also reached the semi-finals, after winning a contested and controversial match 15-14 against Greece’s Theodora Gkoutoura. She will face Choi, the fencer who knocked out Emura.
In the men’s event, Marini looked set to win, but was defeated 15-14 by Maxime Pauty. The Frenchman staged a remarkable comeback from 10-2 down.
Marini, the 2023 world champion and world number one in foil, was stunned by his opponent’s victorious rally and asked the referee to check the video after almost every touch.
Pauty lost in the quarterfinals 15-14 to the Japanese Kazuki Iimura. Iimura will face reigning champion Cheung Ka-long from Hong Kong in the semifinals.
France’s favourite Enzo Lefort was in sixth place and was defeated 15-14 by Cheung in the nerve-wracking quarter-final.
French medal hopes now rest entirely on the female sabre fencers, who must at least take home bronze and aim higher.
