President of the Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) Ilgar Mammadov said that despite the sanctions, all of the strongest athletes in world fencing would compete in the Moscow Saber.
The Moscow Saber takes place for the first time since 2019. The tournament is attended by current Olympic women’s saber champion Sofia Pozdnyakova, 2014 Games winner Yana Yegoryan, as well as Olympic Games winners in team competitions Sofia Velikaya and Olga Nikitina. In addition to the Russians, athletes from Belarus, Armenia and Nepal participate in the Moscow Saber.
“I feel like I’m at the Tokyo Olympics: just as exciting, just as delicious. Yes, now we have a temporary lull, we’re not going anywhere. It’s okay: no matter what athlete, at any level, dreams of taking part in competitions like today. In this hall we held the Spartakiad, now for the first time in two years we hold the Moscow Saber. All athletes strongest in the world, the best in the world in saber, perform here,” Mammadov said during the opening ceremony of the tournament.
The tournament takes place in the palace of Irina Viner-Usmanova and will last until December 4.
Source : MatchTV
