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Sabre fencing match between the women’s national teams of Russia and France will take place at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Sabre fencing match between the women’s national teams of Russia and France will take place at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Friendly match between the women’s national teams of Russia and France on sabre fencing will take place on 25 May as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Marble Hall, the main exhibition hall of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg, will host the event.  

“Fencing competition has been included into the SPIEF programme for the first time”, remarks Pavel Kolobkov, the Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation. “It will be a unique and spectacular tournament among women’s national teams of Russia and France. The athletes of these countries have been famous for their excellent performance, while fencing itself is one of the oldest and even historical kinds of sports. Without a doubt, the event venue will play a great role, too. I’m sure that everyone will be impressed with the Museum of Ethnography. We hope that the friendly match will be a real sensation both for connoisseurs of the sport as well as those, who will see it for the first time.”           

Friendly match will be held in the form of a team tournament of nine matches. According to the preliminary application, every team includes four female fencers. It is worth noting that the women’s national team of Russia won team tournament among female sabre-fencers at the Olympic Games in 2016 and the French national team won bronze medals at the World Championship in 2017. The Ministry of Sport has included the tournament into the list of international sport events of special importance held on the territory of the Russian Federation. The work group on organising the event headed by Pavel Kolobkov, Minister of Sport, includes representatives of the Russian Fencing Federation, Russian Olympic Committee, the Government of St. Petersburg, and Roscongress Foundation, the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.           

“This year France has been given the status of a guest country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the tournament hosting the world sabre leaders will expand the programme of friendly exchanges between the countries,” noted Georgy Brusov, Roscongress Foundation Deputy Director. “At the same time, it is a great opportunity to present fencing as a kind of sport on the platform of the world class business event.”      

A return match between the female athletes of Russia and France will be held in Paris in November this year within the framework of International Fencing Federation Congress (FIE).    

Foto - Patrick Smith/Getty Images

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