SHANGHAI - Choi Chun-yin of Hong Kong, China, claimed victory in the men's event at the 2025 Shanghai Foil Grand Prix on Sunday, while Italy's Martina Favaretto successfully defended her women's title.
The 27-year-old Choi, ranked No 32 in the world, improved on his 2019 bronze in Shanghai by capturing gold with a 15-12 win over Italy's Tommaso Marini in the final. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Edgar Cheung Ka-long of Hong Kong, China and Giulio Lombardi of Italy shared bronze.
In the women's competition, Favaretto defeated world No 1 and Olympic champion Lee Kiefer of the United States 15-11 to secure her third Grand Prix title. Fellow Italians Martina Barini and Arianna Errigo shared bronze.
Seventeen fencers from Team China reached the men's and women's last 64, with Zeng Zhaoran and Guo Yifan advancing to the men's quarterfinals. Zeng delivered a standout performance with a 15-11 victory over Paris Olympic men's foil team gold medalist Kazuki Iimura of Japan, following a remarkable 9-0 run in the round of 16. He was later eliminated by Choi 15-8 in the quarterfinals.
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"I'm quite familiar with Iimura," said 20-year-old Zeng. "We've been competing together since the World Junior Championships. Although he's only a year older than me, he's already an Olympic champion."
"We're both speed-oriented players, and he has many techniques worth learning. I regularly study his match footage. Winning today, even after being five points behind, makes me really happy. It shows my mentality has improved a lot."
Reflecting on his quarterfinal loss, Zeng said, "What I lack most now is on-the-spot adaptability and transition capability during matches. Competing more against top athlets like him (Choi) greatly improves my game."
Meanwhile, Guo overcame a slow start to lead 14-11 against France's Rafael Savin in the round of 16 before narrowly winning 15-14. Guo was then defeated 15-10 by Cheung in the quarterfinals after blowing an 8-5 lead.
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"This was my first time facing him (Cheung), and I wasn't fully adjusted," Guo explained. "Personally, I felt he wasn't using his full strength against me. Considering that, reaching this scoreline is decent," Guo said.
