Seventeen year-old Pierre Bianchi made the National Fencing (pictured) Association proud recently by achieving the best result ever for a Maltese fencer at a Junior and Cadet World Championship, which this year took place in Linz, Austria between 20 and 29 March.
Bianchi was accompanied by his coach Juan Formosa, President of the National Association and Nicholas Bianchi, Sports Director.
Bianchi’s first round wins at foil over strong opponents hailing from well established, experienced nations are an important and prestigious milestone for Maltese Fencing, clearly indicating that world class quality has been attained.
Malta’s previous record, also valid and encouraging at the time, was one victory in the preliminary rounds which had resulted in early elimination prior to subsequent tableau.
Cadets (under 17)
Bianchi had to put up with a hard start in his first bout, losing to the Russian Artur Akhmatkhuzin, the eventual bronze-medal winner.
During his second encounter, Bianchi was beginning to find his form against Czech Jiri Koutny when a mistake of distance allowed his opponent to counter-attack and land a fatal hit, taking the bout 5-4.
Bianchi’s turn-around came in his bout against the second-ranked United States fencer Kurt Getz who he defeated 5-4. Bianchi followed with two further victories, over Balazas Benke (Hungary) who ended the tournament in 8th position and Zhongqi Sun (China).
Bianchi’s wins and points average gave him a merited mid-table placing in the final classification.
Juniors (under 20)
In order to maximise exposure to top level competition Bianchi was also entered for the Junior category, even though this meant participating against older and more experienced fencers.
It was with great satisfaction that he managed to defeat Jacques Viljoen (South Africa) and Vilem Madr (Czech Republic). In the subsequent direct elimination encounter, which could have gone either way, Bianchi was unfortunate in losing to Israeli Yaaqov Htuel by a narrow margin of 15-14. His performance gained the admiration of several coaches and fencers who watched the hard-fought bout.
The results achieved at this World Championship have proved that Maltese fencers have the ability to do well at international level, were they to be given the necessary encouragement and financial backing. Bianchi has shown exceptional commitment and has managed to achieve so much only through the generous support of his coach and his family.