The last time the women's épée team reached the World Championship final was nearly a decade ago, in 2017. That time, the team defeated China to take gold.

After a disappointing run in the individual women's épée event late last week and over the weekend, the seventh-seeded women's épée foursome, consisting of Veronika Zuikova, reigning European champion Katrina Lehis, and two veterans from the 2017 final, Julia Beljajeva and Irina Embrich, went all the way to the final to narrowly lose 31–30 to the Italians.

Lehis was crowned European champion last month. Three of the four (Lehis, Beljajeva, and Embrich) were part of the team which took gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), while Beljajeva and Embrich were in the 2017 final, which Estonia won. Lehis also took bronze at the individual event in Tokyo.

Progress to the final

The team first faced Romania in the round of 32. They claimed a 36–25 victory in that match.

Next up came Canada, which Estonia cruised past with a 45–25 victory; Estonia lost just one of the nine individual bouts in that round.

In the quarterfinals, Estonia took on reigning world champions and Paris Olympic silver medalists France, who had defeated Chinese Taipei 45–18 and Israel 45–39.

Estonia made a superb start as Beljajeva blanked Alexandra Louis Marie von Kerssenbrock 5–0, Embrich scored the first two touches of her bout to give Estonia a 9–2 lead, and Lehis then defeated Marie-Florence Candassamy 4–2. After Beljajeva's touch in the fifth bout, the Estonians had stretched their lead to 19–7, and their advantage remained at at least 10 touches throughout. Embrich's victory over Candassamy extended Estonia's lead to 30–17.

The French attacked aggressively in the final two bouts. Von Kerssenbrock edged Lehis 9–8, and France's fourth team member, Auriane Mallo-Breton, beat Beljajeva 8–7, but Estonia's lead held up and the team advanced to the semifinals with a 45–34 win.

In the semifinals, the Estonian women faced Hungary, European Championship silver medalists three times over the past four years. Hungary had beaten the U.S. 43–38 in their quarterfinal.

Lehis beat top fencer Blanka Nagy 7–4 in the second bout, while Beljajeva again excelled, defeating the youngest member of the Hungarian team 4–1 to give Estonia a 14–9 overall lead after the fourth bout.

Embrich briefly found herself in trouble against Nagy, 27 years her junior, but then scored three consecutive touches. After Beljajeva's 3–2 victory over Lili Buki, Lehis entered the final bout holding a three-touch lead against Hungary's top fencer, Eszter Muhari. Lehis withstood the attacks of the Paris Olympic bronze medalist, won the bout 15–12, and sent Estonia into the final with a 42–34 overall victory.

Italy, who took olympic gold in Paris two years ago, edged South Korea 45–44 in a thrilling semifinal to set up the showdown with Estonia.

The final

The final in Hong Kong started at 3 p.m. Estonian time Tuesday.

Alberta Santuccio defeated Beljajeva 2–0 in the opening bout, and Estonia spent the rest of the final chasing the deficit, which got as narrow as one point early on in the tournament as Beljajeva's victory in her second bout, when things were 11–10 in the Italians' favor. Lehis however then lost 4–0 down to Giulia Rizzi in the sixth bout, allowing the olympic champions to extend their lead to six touches. Embrich and Beljajeva together managed to pull Estonia one touch closer, leaving Lehis to begin the final bout trailing 24–19.

While Lehis expertly put her Italian opponent under pressure and gradually reduced Estonia's deficit – With 40 seconds remaining, Lehis closed to within a single touch, but there was simply too little time left. The final seconds featured five consecutive double touches, leaving Italy to claim a narrow 31–30 victory.

Coach: Almost a lost gold situation, but a medal is a medal

Head coach Nikolai Novosjolov said the result was no surprise to him given the quality of the team, though expressed a little disappointment about missing out on the gold.

"After the individual event, there was understandably disappointment within the team because the athletes knew they were capable of more. Hence why it is especially gratifying that the women's team managed to put that behind them, pull themselves together and fence with confidence and unity throughout the team tournament," Novosjolov said in comments released by the national fencing association.

"The reward for a performance like that is, of course, tremendous. This result gives both the team and the coaches a great deal of motivation and belief to continue working towards the Los Angeles Olympic Games."

Speaking to ERR later on Tuesday, Novosjolov praised the team though also conceded that, in his view, it was a lost gold.

"A medal is a medal, and we're very happy about it. The girls did a fantastic job today. Basically, every match was very convincing, and I haven't seen them fence this well in a long time. Of course, the final will sting a little, although, as I said before, we're very, very happy with the medal."

"The girls fought for every touch, and even when the lead grew, no one relaxed for a moment. On the contrary, the goal was to extend that advantage and bring the victory home without unnecessary tension," he went on.

"When I decided to take on coaching the women's team, I believed they were still capable of winning the brightest medals," he added noting the team's pedigree meant making the final came as no surprise. In fact, Tuesday, the day they won, was the fifth anniversary of the Olympic gold medal in the team event Estonia won.

"I think that was a pleasant reminder of that time and of just how great they are. As for whether they personally drew motivation from it, each of them would have to answer that for themselves. I remember that moment very well," the coach said on this.

Men's team reach round 2

Meanwhile the Estonian men's épée team consisting of Sten Priinits, Kasper Tafenau, Oliver Laasik and Markus Salm won its opening bout at the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong, overcoming Singapore 45:23. but then lost to top-seeded France 43:31 in the round of 32.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include the final result and comment from Nikolai Novosjolov, and the men's team's result.

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