Vietnamese fencers to vie for Olympic berths in Italy
VOV.VN - Local fencers are set to compete in the 2023 International Fencing Federation (FIE) Fencing Grand Prix Sabre which will take place from February 2 to March 6 in Padua in Italy, with the group aiming to win more points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Around 100 competitors will be divided into different groups and compete at the event to win one of the remaining zonal allocations.
Six athletes will therefore qualify for the men's individual sabre via world ranking points, with the top two fencers from both Europe and Asia-Oceania, as well as the top fencer from both the Americas and Africa.
Vu Thanh An, reigning SEA Games champion, will join three other athletes of the Vietnamese men’s fencing team to join the tournament.
This comes after Vietnamese fencers endured a period of being absent from the international arena due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning they failed to win any slots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11 next year. There will be three competitions in which the athletes can secure a slot for the competition, including the 2023 World Championship, the Continental Games/Championships, and the Olympic qualifier series.
The FIE Fencing Grand Prix Sabre in Padua is one part of the 2023 world championship system and Vietnamese fencers expect to win more points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.