Day 9 in Rio2016: Bronze boys

The 14^th of August brought about quite some excitement for Hungarians in Rio2016. The men’s epee team worked very hard the whole day and won a bronze medal in the end, which was more than fascinating. Wrestler Péter Bácsi finished in the 5^th place after tough battles, while the men’s water polo team defeated Brazil in the last round of the group phase, thus qualifying to the quarter-finals as the winners of the group.

The first Hungarian wrestler to start his Olympic Games was Péter Bácsi in 75 kg Greco-Roman. He started out so strongly and convincingly that we thought that no one could stop him. Unfortunately, this is not how things go in wrestling and combat sports in general, where the result can change in just a few seconds. He lost the semi-final in a very though and balanced battle so he could try for the bronze medal a few hours later.

He came out confidently but his opponent surprised him with an immediate attack that gave a bad lead. Despite his tries, he couldn’t work off his disadvantage and finished the Rio Olympic Games in the 5^th place. “He had four matches, his opponent had two…One wrestles four times, the other two time. He wins a bronze with two won matches and Peti is only the 5^th with three wins. It’s crazy” said András Sike, the coach of the World and European Champion wrestler.

On the brighter side, the Hungarian men’s epee team finished the day with a win that meant a bronze medal, more exactly four bronze medals, to Géza Imre, Gábor Boczkó, András Rédli and Péter Somfai. The big dream, of course, was a final and a gold medal, but they had to face the unbeatable French team in the semi-final. The Hungarian team came for a medal and they can now leave with a beautifully shining, well-deserved bronze medal.

“My hair turned grey… András (Rédli) surprised everyone with a hoodlum touch that no one expected, and it gave us a boost. I am so glad that we were able to finish with a win. I am happy and satisfied. It’s no use complain, I am proud of my two medals. Some Koreans even hugged me and told me that this was their last match. I think they also acknowledge what I’ve done” said Géza Imre, who won a silver medal in men’s individual epee.

Lastly, the men’s water polo team faced the soaring Brazil in the last round of the group phase. The situation was bit tight as a win would’ve meant the first place in our group, a tie would’ve meant the 3^rd, while a loss could’ve been fatal.

Luckily we didn’t have to be terrified, because our team took the lead and started dictating the rhythm after a few chaotic minutes. And they won by 10:6 in front of the Brazilian audience, thus qualifying into the quarter-final in the first place of the group, which means that Montenegro is up next on Tuesday.

RESULTS:

Men’s subcaliber rifle shooting, combined – István Péni 12^th place, Péter Sidi 34^th place, they didn’t qualify into the final

Women’s marathon run – Zsófia Erdélyi 52^nd place, Krisztina Papp 65^th place and Tünde Szabó 83^rd place

Men’s 75 kg Greco-Roman wrestling, bronze match – Péter Bácsi-Saeid Morad Abdvali (Iran) 2:5

Men’s epee fencing team, bronze match – Hungary-Ukraine 39:37 –> 3^rd place

Men’s Finn sailing, heats – Zsombor Berecz 16^th and 12^th place, meaning that he finished in the 12^th place on the whole

Men’s water polo, last round of the group phase – Brazil-Hungary 6:10

Photos: MTI

Copy editor: bm

Source: Daily News Hungary