The best of fencing will be on display as about 350 male and female fencers from 52 countries cross swords at the Qatar Grand Prix Fencing Championship 2023, which will be held from today to Jan 29, at the indoor hall of the Aspire Academy in Doha.
Almost all the world’s top fencers are on the line-up for the Qatar-leg of the one-series, nine-city International Fencing Federation (FIE)-organised senior competition.
Leading the male category in the Épée competition is No. 1-ranked Yannick Borel of France.
The 34-year-old 2018 individual world champion, who is also a four-time team world champion and four-time individual European champion, will be up against a strong field that includes world No. 2 Romain Cannone, also of France; Japan’s Koki Kano (world No. 3); Hungary’s Mate Tamas Koch (the world No. 4); and Venezuela’s Ruben Limardo Gascon (the world No. 5), among others.
For the female category, all eyes will be on South Korea’s duo of Choi In-jeong (the world No. 1) and No. 2-ranked Sera Song.
In-jeong, a two-time team Olympic silver medallist and three-time team Asian champion, secured a gold medal at the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Grand Prix in Cairo after claiming a 15-14 victory against France’s Auriane Mallo.
The Korean duo will be joined by Hong Kong’s Man Wai Vivian Kong (world No. 3), Hungary’s Anna Kun (No. 4-ranked), and Alberta Santuccio from Italy (world No. 5) in the top-five ranked fencers for the competition.
A total of $22,000 is up for grabs, with the winner walking away with $5,000 in both the male and female categories, while the second-placed gets $3,000. The semi-finalists will each earn $1,500.
This year’s competition will witness participation from nine Arab countries: Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon, and Algeria.
Qatar’s quest for honour in the male category at the three-day event will be led by 883-ranked Jaber al-Fadaaq, who along with six of his teammates will be looking forward to claiming a first-time medal for Qatar at the annual competition.
Also on the team are Mohamed al-Oulan (ranked 903), Mohamed al-Hazaa (ranked 904), Meshaal al-Qahtani (ranked 915), Youssef Abdeltawab, Mohamed Abdulali, and Abdulrahman al-Jadra.
Haya Diab, who won silver at the last West Asian U-20 Fencing Championship in Jordan, will be representing Qatar in the female category.
The Qatari team has been in impressive form recently, having claimed four medals, one gold, one silver, and two bronze, at the last West Asian U-20 Fencing Championship, in Amman, and the team is poised to do the country proud as they face competitions from their counterparts around the world.
Khaled al-Suwaid, the Tournament Director and head of the stadium committee, confirmed that the organisers are ready to host a memorable event.
“The organisers are ready, and everything is in place to ensure a memorable competition,” al-Suwaid said.
“We once again appreciate our partners and sponsors for their support over the years, and we would like to extend our appreciation to Aspire Academy for their tremendous partnership for this competition, which has become one of the most important on the FIE calendar,” al-Suwaid said yesterday.
As per the schedule, the competitions will start with the women’s qualifiers, starting from the group stage, where the first from the groups will advance to the round of 128 and then the round of 64 through knockout, and the first day will be devoted to these qualifiers only.
On the third day, the competitions for men and women will be completed in the morning until reaching the final match, which will be held in the evening, and the award ceremony will take place in the evening of the same day for men and women together.
Khaled al-Suwaid, the Tournament Director
