Czech fencer Alexander Choupenitch at the World Cup competitions in Busan, Korea, March 19, 2023.
Busan (Korea) – Alexander Choupenitch placed sixth at the Fencing Grand Prix in Korea place and at the elite category tournament he followed up on the February bronze from Turin. The FIE world number eight and Olympic bronze medalist won three matches in Busan before being stopped by France's Maxime Pauty in the quarter-finals.
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The home team So Myong-chol (15:8), the American Marcello Olivares (15:11) and the 31st fencer in the FIE ranking Davide Filippi from Italy (15:12) were not enough for Choupenitch. “I am very happy with the victory over Filippi, because at the last World Cup tournament he took third place,” said Choupenitch in a press release.
However, in the quarter-finals, the world's 19 players were beyond his strength. Pauty, with whom Choupenitche shares a great friendship, won 15:10 and avenged the Czech star's defeat in the Turin quarterfinals. “We met Maxim three times in the quarterfinals this year and now he leads 2:1 in matches. I hope to catch up with him during the season,” Choupenitch wished.
At the Grand Prix, which has a similar status in the hierarchy of fencing competitions to Grand Slams in tennis, Choupenitch achieved another top result after arduous travel and difficulties with jet lag. “If someone had told me two days ago that I would be sixth overall, I would have taken it all ten. This time I had a big problem sleeping after traveling. I'm not used to jet lag, so I didn't have energy and I wasn't very well mentally “, he stated. “The transfer took almost thirty hours. Pusan, where the tournament has never been before, is in the very south of the country,” said the best Czech fencer of the moment.
In the end, however, he beamed with satisfaction. “Overall, a great tournament, because Grand Prix tournaments are better scored than World Cup tournaments. During the tournament, I felt good in attack and showed good fencing,” praised the Brno native. He mainly enjoys the fact that he delivers balanced performances. “I've played six tournaments this year and I've been to the quarterfinals twice and won a medal once,” he added.
