Estonia's women's épée team wins bronze at Casablanca World Cup

Estonia's women's épée team took the bronze medal at a fencing World Cup event in Casablanca, Morocco. The Estonians lost 45-34 to Russia in the semifinals, then beat the United States 45-22 in the bronze medal match. Épée is one of the three fencing disciplines, and World Cup events are part of an international competition series.

The road to the semifinals

In the opening round, Estonia faced Turkey. The start was shaky: Katrina Lehis and Irina Embrich lost their first bouts, and Julia Beljajeva trailed 9-6 at the start of the third bout. Estonia then won all of the remaining seven bouts and took the match 45-26. Embrich defeated Nilahsen Erten 8-5 in the fourth bout, and in the seventh she beat Nisan Dincel, who is 28 years her junior, 9-2.

In the round of 16, Estonia beat Germany 38-24. The Estonians led 15-11 going into the fourth bout and kept their advantage to the end. In the quarterfinals against a strong French team, Estonia led by six touches after the third bout and by ten after the sixth, winning 45-34.

Semifinal and bronze medal match

Against Russia, Estonia trailed 14-10 after three bouts, but Beljajeva levelled the score. The tie did not last, and Russia led 30-21 after the sixth bout. Estonia could not recover and lost 45-34.

In the match for third place, Estonia met the United States, who had lost their semifinal to Italy 38-31. The Americans offered little resistance, and Estonia won 45-22. Russia took the title, beating Italy 32-31 in the final.

Estonia's men's épée team defeated Greece 45-31 in the first round, but lost 45-38 in the next round to fourth-seeded Italy. Kazakhstan won the men's event, beating Russia 45-40 in the final.