Estonia is competing in both the women's and men's épée events, and world titles in both individual and team events are

Women's team head coach Nikolai Novosjolov said ahead of the competition that preparations had gone according to plan.

"The competitive conditions are very good, and everything needed for successful preparation is in place. As of now the work has been done, and now it is time to compete. Our greatest strength is the members of the women's team themselves – I believe they are ready to show their level," Novosjolov said.

As world number one, Lehis has automactically qualified for round one, the round of 64, while her teammates, Irina Embrich, Julia Beljajeva and Veronika Zuikova have to go through qualifying Wednesday.

All four men: Sten Priinits, Kasper Tafenau, Oliver Laasik and Markus Salm, have to go through qualifying.

Priinits said the team had been able to prepare well and that morale was high. "We have been able to do high-quality training sessions and sparring with athletes from different countries. I believe the entire team is ready to give 100 percent," he said.

The World Fencing Championships start Wednesday, July 22 and run until Thursday, July 30, and are being held in Hong Kong for the first time. The competition has attracted over a thousand competitors from over 100 countries will compete.

The women's individual events run July 22-25, the men's start and end a day later. The women's team event is on July 28, the men's on July 29. The event's official site is here.

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