Meinhardt and Deriglazova Win Foil Titles at Fencing Grand Prix of Qatar

Doha, March 29 (QNA) - The United States' Gerek Meinhardt and Russia's Inna Deriglazova won the men's and women's foil gold medals at the Fencing Grand Prix of Qatar, which concluded its three-day competitions at Aspire Dome on Sunday. The tournament witnessed the participation of 493 world champions and top ranked athletes from 51 countries amidst tight COVID-19 precautionary measures. In the men's final, Meinhardt overcame Japan's Takahiro Shikine 15-11. The American's route to the final featured a quarter-final victory over Hong Kong's Chun Yin Ryan Choi 15-11, followed by a 15-8 win over compatriot Race Imboden in the last four. Shikine defeated Poland's Michael Siess 15-11 in the quarter-finals and made the final with a narrow 15-14 victory over France's Alexandre Ediri. Ediri and Imboden each won bronze medals. In the women's final, Deriglazova faced China's Chen Qingyuan and recorded a 15-5 win. That came after Deriglazova won her quarter-final against compatriot Adelina Zagidullina 15-12 and earned 15-10 victory over France's Ysaora Thibus in the semi-finals. Chen made her way to the gold-medal duel with a 15-7 quarter-final victory over Turkey's Irem Karamete and prevented an all-Russian final with a 15-13 victory over Marta Martyanova in the semi-finals. Thibus and Martyanova won the bronze medals. The Fencing Grand Prix is one of the most important tournaments hosted annually by Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Federation (QWFF) since 2004. HE Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee Jassim Rashid Al Buainain crowned the winners in the presence of HE former President of Qatar Fencing Federation Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Vice President of the International Fencing Federation Donald Anthony, President of Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Federation Mohammed Yousef Al Mana and officials of the federation. In remarks following the conclusion of the tournament, Secretary-General of QWFF Khalid Issa Al Hammadi expressed his happiness with the great success achieved by the Grand Prix championship this year, noting officials of the International Fencing Federation praised the great organization and the technical level of the tournament. For his part, QWFF Assistant Secretary and head of the media committee Fahad Al Mulla said that the participation of Qatari players in the tournament was good at all levels, noting the great benefit of this paritiaption which confirms the confirms the development of the levels of the national team players. Prior to the coronation ceremony, Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Federation (QWFF) presented memorial shields to HE former President of Qatar Fencing Federation Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, HE Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee Jassim Rashid Al Buainain, officials of Aspire Academy, and Vice President of the International Fencing Federation Donald Anthony. (QNA)