Olympic Champion alert this Sunday 28 of July with Sanguk, who won the gold in the men’s individual sabre event. He beat Fares Ferjani 14-9 in the final. 

Fencer Mohamed El Sayed won the bronze medal for Egypt after beating Tibor Andrasfi of Hungary 8-7 in overtime collecting Egypt's first medal in Paris.

In the women's heat, Eleanor Harvey advanced to the semifinals of the women’s individual foil becoming the first Canadian to do so in any individual fencing event in the history of the Olympic Games. Team USA's Lauren Scruggs also advanced to the final in women's fencing.

"Important that Israelis see their athletes at Olympics”, says beaten fencer

Yuval Freilich's dream of Olympic glory in Paris lasted just nine minutes on Sunday, which the Israeli fencer told AFP was a "huge disappointment".

But he reflected that "given the larger picture...it's a positive experience."The 29-year-old has been accustomed to making history by becoming both the first Israeli man to be crowned European champion and the first to qualify in the epee for an Olympics.

However, despite being ranked seventh in Paris, Freilich went down to a surprise defeat to Italy's Andrea Santarelli, ranked some 19 places below him, in the last 32 rounds. 

The Israel-born son of Australian parents was upset after losing, sobbing into the chest of one of his team's staff. "At the moment there is a huge disappointment and I am sure it will only get stronger as time goes by," he told AFP.

Freilich said he was proud to have qualified for the Olympics and he at least had his family with him to provide solace, but he said his defeat was nothing in contrast to what is happening at home where Israel is engaged in a war in Gaza.

"I am proud to represent my country and it's important for my country to see that we have Israeli athletes representing them," he said. "I think in the larger picture, if I put things in perspective, it's a positive experience."

Freilich refused to use the war as an excuse, although it has made training more complicated. "It hasn't restricted us too much," he said. "Before the war began we had sparring partners who would come with us to Israel and come train with us.

"Since the war began they couldn't so I had to travel abroad. "But that's OK. It didn't impair my preparations in any way. The fact that I got here is a fantastic result."

The first day

Szilagyi, 34, experienced his first Olympic defeat since Beijing 2008, with the match being observed by US First Lady Jill Biden.

The Hungarian's dream of a record-extending fourth men's Olympic sabre individual crown was scuppered, following a shock 15-8 loss in the round of 32 against Canada's Fares Arfa on Saturday. 

"I'm in a bit of shock right now, so I'm not even disappointed or angry at myself yet," he said. "It happened so fast, and I've never thought that my individual competition here in Paris would be so short.

"It's really a shock. It's like my opponent read me. I was an open book to him. In every touch, what he wanted, it happened. All his parries worked, all his attacks landed."

Szilagyi entered Paris' Grand Palais, the venue for the 2010 fencing world championships, with the confidence of a reigning champion. However, from the outset of his match against a world-ranked 35th opponent, he struggled.

Despite a comeback attempt to close the gap from 6-0 to 6-4, his usual dominance was missing. Even switching sabres mid-match couldn't revive his performance, leaving his 29-year-old Canadian rival and the spectators astonished at the champion's lacklustre showing.

"It was like as if he'd been the three-time Olympic champion, and I was some kind of first-time Olympian," said Szilagyi. "Of course, we will watch my match again to understand what really happened, but after some time. Then I'll think of the team event."

Arfa advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating France's 38-year-old Bolade Apithy. Szilagyi wasn’t the only notable casualty; America's 2023 world champion Eli Dershwitz also fell in the last 32 round, losing 15-10 to Hungarian Csanad Gemesi.

A total of 16 athletes booked their place in the finals of the fencing which will take place from July 27 until August 4, with 12 gold-medal competitions being held at the Grand Palais in individual and team epee, foil and sabre.