CAIRO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- France won the men's saber team gold medal at the Cairo World Cup on Sunday evening after defeating Hungary 45-37 in the final.
The French team, composed of Remi Garrigue, Jean-Philippe Patrice, Sebastien Patrice and Benjamin Ducerf, controlled the final against Hungary on the last day of the tournament.
Ducerf said that the victory was special for him as it marked his first senior gold.
"This win is especially meaningful for me as it is my first World Cup gold medal. It is such an achievement for me and it's a result of hard work and training," he told Xinhua after the match.
"We worked hard for this victory. It took a lot of daily training back in Paris," the French fencer added.
France's coach Vincent Anstett said that victory was the team's primary goal though the road to victory was not easy, noting that the French team is ranked first in the world.
"We have very strong fencers. All of them are in the top 10 in the world ranking, so for sure it is very helpful to win a competition by team," the French coach told Xinhua.
He added that the team's determination to win and their hard training were behind the achievement. "It is both the mindset and hard work."
Anstett said his fencers were very focused all day, with no big mistakes. "Even when it was a little bit difficult, they kept their focus and tried to win the next match."
Speaking of the final, he said it was "difficult." "Hungary is also a top team, and Aron Szilagyi is a three-time Olympic champion. It was very close during the match, and only in the last bout or two bouts did we take the lead."
Hungary, represented by Benedek Dallos, Krisztian Rabb, Andras Szatmari and Aron Szilagyi, took the silver medal.
France reached the final after beating the United States 45-37 in the semifinals, while Hungary edged South Korea 45-43 in the other semifinal.
South Korea claimed the bronze after beating the United States 45-42 in the third-place playoff.
South Korea's Oh Sang-uk won the individual gold on Saturday after beating American Colin Heathcock 15-8 in the final, while Georgia's Sandro Bazadze and Germany's Frederic Kindler shared bronze.
The Men's Saber Individual and Team World Cup 2026, which opened on Friday, concluded on Sunday at the indoor halls complex of Cairo International Stadium, with the participation of 231 fencers from 40 countries and regions. ■
