It was the start of the World Cup season for many Quebec fencers this weekend. Five representatives of La Belle Province were on the side of Algiers, in Algeria, on the occasion of the Saber World Cup, while two others represented Canada in the epee in Tallin, in Estonia.
Posted at 2:07 p.m.
Pamela Brind’Amour is the one who obtained the best individual result among Quebecers during the weekend. The 29-year-old finished in 52e rank in the general saber classification. After amassing a record of four wins and two losses in the pool round, she enjoyed a bye in the first round.
“It went really well at the start of the competition. The two duels I lost, I probably should have won them. When the games get tight, the stress increases and I have trouble managing it all,” said Brind’Amour in an interview with Sportcom.
Opposed to the Spaniard Itziar Gallardo in the table of 64, Brind’Amour admitted defeat by the score of 15-9. In her classification match, the Quebecer then lost to Turkey’s Nisanur Erbil.
“My first goal was to get into the main draw and that’s what I managed to accomplish, so I’m satisfied in a way. Obviously, I think I could have done a little more to win. It’s a start to the season and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved,” she added.
Brind’Amour had a chance to bounce back in the team competition where she helped Canada to 14e rung.
The Sainte-Martine athlete joined forces with Madison Thurgood and Marissa Ponich to defeat Egypt 45-19 in the first duel of the day. Brind’Amour even had the privilege of scoring the winning point at the end of the confrontation by touching Nada Hafez.
“We wanted to start the team competition strong and that’s what we were able to do against Egypt. We knew we could beat them convincingly and it was mission accomplished,” remarked Brind’Amour.
In the next round, the Canadians fell 45-31 to eventual gold medalists Italy. In the classification matches, they first defeated the Americans 45-38, before losing in a hard-fought duel to the Kazakhs, winners by a score of 45-44.
Canada once again put up a good fight in the matchup for the 13e place, but was unable to overcome Algeria, who won 45-43.
“The Italians are extremely strong, we could have done better, but we keep in mind that they are one of the best teams. It was a big win next against the United States, I’m not sure I’ve beaten them yet and it’s great in our process of qualifying for the Olympics. »
“We lost some good leads in the last two games and that’s what led to our losses. As Gabriella Page is injured, we did not have the luxury of having a fourth teammate who could take over here and there. We’re not disappointed, but we know we can do better,” concluded Brind’Amour.
On the men’s side, Angelo Chiara (85e) particularly stood out among Quebecers in Algiers. With a record of three wins and three losses in qualifying, he got the better of his teammate Olivier Desrosiers (114e) 15-6 in the first elimination round, before losing 15-8 to Germany’s Frederic Kindler in the next duel.
François Cauchon (123)e) also reached the round of 128 where he lost 15-7 to Santiago Madrigal of Spain. The career of Marc Gélinas (152e) meanwhile ended in the round of hens.
In the team competition, Cauchon, Desrosiers and Chiara ranked 15are. After their early win over Algeria 45-35, the Canadian foursome were defeated by Iran, Georgia and China, so they found themselves facing Kuwait in the match for the 15e square. Duel he won by 45-33.
Finally, near Tallin, in Estonia, Alexanne Verret (174e) was eliminated in the round of 256 after losing 15-7 to Israeli Adele Bogdanov. Marie-Frederique Millette (145e) had a little more success winning their first-round playoff duel 15-13 against Sweden’s Engla Sinnerlin Holm, before being beaten 9-8 by Ka Mong Chu of Hong Kong in the next round.