Italian Fencer Filippo Macchi Reflects on World Championships Victory and Olympic Loss
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- Italian fencer Filippo Macchi reflected on his team's World Championships foil victory in Hong Kong and his individual silver medal, recalling his 2020 Olympic loss to Cheung Ka-long.
- He expressed determination despite past disappointments, as Italy celebrated its dominance.
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Italian fencer Filippo Macchi reflected on his team's World Championships foil victory and his individual silver medal, recalling his 2020 Olympic loss to Cheung Ka-long. He expressed determination despite past disappointments.
As he reflected in a high-rise Wan Chai pizza restaurant on Italy’s breathless team foil World Championships final victory over Hong Kong, Filippo Macchi could not help winding his mind further back to the Olympic gold medal bout he lost to Cheung Ka-long two years ago.
“I still have some nightmares about it, because I put all my energy and efforts into this sport every day,” Macchi told the South China Morning Post.
Also a silver medallist in the individual global competition last week, Macchi led Cheung 14-12 in Paris before the Hongkonger mustered one of his characteristic comebacks to claim the final three points.
“[Despite the disappointment] I never give up at any moment, even when it’s very tough to push forward with my heart,” Macchi, the world No 4, said. “When I compete, I just want to achieve the maximum goal.”
The Italian contingent celebrated their World Championships dominance on Wednesday night at an event hosted by the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong.
In his address, Giulio Gubert, the deputy consul-general, good-naturedly mentioned that the Ama Ristorante pizzas were pineapple-free – a reference to the social media spat in which Cheung’s fans teased Macchi loyalists about their preferred topping, heresy in Italy, after the athletes’ 2024 showdown climaxed with a dispute over who had managed the last touch.
