Doha: Vadim Anokhin of Russia defeated Fabien Kauter of Switzerland in the Qatar Grand Prix to collect his first major career win.
Yesterday at the Gate Mall, the 23-year-old overcame the challenge of Kauter, four-time European team champion and bronze medallist in the 2011 and 2013 World Fencing Championships, to pick by his first senior World Cup.
In the final, Anokhin won 15-10.
The Russian was delighted with his win in Doha.
“Finally my preparations and tactics worked and I emerged as a winner. It’s a nice feeling to be a winner,” said the Russian while talking to journalists after his win.
“I dominated the proceedings in the final. The victory is a fruit of the long preparations I had.”
The Russian said the win in Qatar will be a motivating factor and he will be looking for more wins in the new year.
“Hopefully, the win will be a turning point of my career and more wins will follow in due course,” he added.
“My focus is on the Rio Olympics, next year,” said Anokhin, who defeated Yanick Borel of France in the semi-finals and Priinits Sten of Estonia in the quarter-finals.
For Kauter, this is the first time since November 2014 that he has finished on the podium at a World Cup.
The Swiss registered several hard fought wins on the way to the final.
In the first round, he had to pull out all his tricks to oust the Italian Macro Fichera (14-13).
The quarter-final also went to the wire against French Daniel Jerent (15-13), then in the semifinal against the Dutchman Bas Verwijlen, he won 9-8 in sudden death.
Doha has been a happy hunting ground for the Swiss and Kauter was following the tradition.
In 2014, the Tiffany Géroudet won the first win of his career in a World Cup here, while Peer Bosky also reached the final.
However, the 2015 edition turned out not to be so lucky for other Swiss contenders. Bejamin Steffen failed in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile Frenchman Borel has qualified for next year’s Rio Olympics in Brazil after a third place finish yesterday. France has already secured qualification for the Olympics, which guarantees three quotas in the individual category.
Gauthier Grumier, world No.1 and eliminated yesterday in the first round in Doha, Daniel Jérent, quarter-finalist in Qatar, are the other two who have been selected for the Rio event.
The Peninsula
