The British foilists lost 45-32 to Poland when, after a promising start, the match got away from them in the 4th, 5th and 6th fights, and Poland held a commanding lead to the end and will now face top seeds Italy in the quarter-finals after the Italians also won 45-32 against Slovakia. China beat Belarus 44-30, Ukraine beat Denmark 45-31, Japan beat Canada 45-30 and USA beat Egypt 45-38. The upset of the round was Russia comfortably beating 3rd seeds France 45-32 and undoubtedly the best match was the clash between Hungary and Korea. The match was close all the way but the Koreans edged 3 hits clear with less than a minute remaining but the last Hungarian went on the rampage and equalised at 44 all with 1 second remaining but in the extra minute Korea took the match with a single light to take their place in the last 8.
The quarter-final line-up is:
Italy v Poland
Korea v China
Russia v Ukraine
Japan v USA
Photo courtesy of Denise Wilson