Due to their 4th seed, the Italian team - Francesco Pagano, Massimo Sibillo, Matteo Ottaviani and Leonardo Reale - had a BYE in the round of 32. In the round of 16 Italy beat Great Britain 45-30, followed by another 45-30 win against Bulgaria. The semi-final was a tough fight against reigning champions Hungary and Italy won with the smallest margin possible, 45-44, after Leonardo Reale secured the last hit in overtime.
Their opponents Romania - Casian Cidu, Dacian Enache, Alexandru Eva, Cristian Macovei - started off with a 45-10 win over Georgia and followed it up with a 45-38 win over France. The semi-final saw Romania come out on top after a solid 45-35 performance against Germany to secure at least a silver medal, an improvement on their bronze from 2022.
However, the Italians made sure to halt those plans. All Italian fencers had a solid performance and quite comfortably won 45-30, securing Italy’s fifth gold of the championships and a first place in the medal table.
In the bronze match Hungary - Matyas Monori, Zsadany Papp, Zalan Szalai and Oszkar Vajda - came out on top with a 45-39 win to secure the medal and a second place in the medal table.
Men's Saber Teams Press Release
