Egyptian foil fencer Abdel-Rahman Tolba continued his impressive international trajectory by capturing the bronze medal at the Foil World Cup in Canada, held from 1-4 May.
Tolba’s journey to the podium was a standout performance, marked by a series of remarkable victories over several top-ranked opponents.
Tolba, from Al-Zohour Club, claimed the bronze after a narrow semi-final defeat to world No 9 Alexander Massialas of the US, falling by the slimmest of margins, 15-14, in a golden touch decider.
His campaign commenced in the Round of 64 with a confident 15-11 win over Brazil’s Guilherme Toledo, followed by a hard-fought 15-13 victory against Spain’s Mario Díaz in the Round of 32.
Tolba then produced one of the tournament’s most notable upsets in the Round of 16, dismantling Czech Republic’s Alexander Choupenitch, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist and world No 6, by a commanding 15-7 scoreline.
In the quarter-finals, he delivered another standout performance, overpowering American star Nick Itkin, the bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics and silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships in Milan, and currently ranked No 4 globally, with a decisive 15-9 victory.
Tolba’s semi-final clash with the experienced Massialas proved a thrilling contest, as both fencers exchanged points in a high-calibre bout. Ultimately, Massialas edged past Tolba in sudden death.
The latest medal adds to Tolba’s rapidly expanding list of accolades, including a bronze at the Grand Prix in Italy earlier this year, and a gold medal at the Junior World Championships in China last month.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 8 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)
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