Kruse wins silver in Seoul

23rd May 2011
Richard Kruse took the silver medal at the Men’s Foil World Cup in Seoul at the weekend, coming through five matches, including a 15-11 defeat of compatriot Laurence Halstead in the last eight, to reach the final.
 
Kruse made light work of the early knockout rounds beating Han (KOR) 15-8, Yunes (UKR) 15-10 and then took out world number 10, Sintes (FRA) 15-7.

Ranked 77th after the preliminary rounds, Halsted faced world number 15, Ma (CHN) who he beat 15-12, followed by a more comfortable victory, 15-7, against Or (ISR).  Next he faced the tough prospect of world number 2, Chamley-Watson (USA).  Halsted prevailed 15-11, making the final 8 for the first time this season.  
 
The draw placed the two British fencers against each other in the round of 8 and after a close fight Kruse came through 15-11.  In the semi-final Kruse faced Sedov (RUS) who he easily beat 15-5.  Andrea Baldini (ITA), world number 7, breezed through to the final to face Kruse with none of his previous opponents getting into double figures.  In an extremely tight final between Kruse and Baldini, the Italian came through 15-14.
 
Performance manager Alex Newton said: "This is a real boost for the team."
 
Head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski added: "This is the first good result for our men's foil team after a relatively poor beginning to the season. This will boost the confidence of the whole team."
 
Apart from Kruse and Halstead, however, only Jamie Kenber and James Davis made it to the final day of the two-day event in Seoul.
 
Kenber, 24, went out in the round of 64, losing 15-10 to Edoradro Luperi of Italy, while 19-year-old Davis fell at the same stage, losing 15-9 to China's Zhang Li.