Athlete of the Week – Fencer Ana Maria Branza
The World Fencing Cup has been held in Qatar, Doha. Romania’s women’s epee team won the competition, which actually the firat stage in 2014, following a hard-fought 19 to 18 victory in the finals against China.
Steliu Lambru, 21.01.2014, 12:00
Romania’s national team, made of Ana Maria Branza, Simona Pop, Maria Udrea and Raluca Sbarcia, whose manager was Octavian Zidaru defeated Poland in the eighth finals, 45-37, while in the quarter finals Romania snatched a 45-44 win against Estonia. In the semifinals, the Romanians won the match against the USA, 26-25, while in the finals the Romanians outclassed China, 19 to 18. The last three wins were snatched in the extra time’s golden minute”.
This time as well, Ana Maria Branza was the leader of the team. In the individual event, the Romanian fencer’s trail was blocked in the epee’s quarter finals. The defending European champion Ana Maria Branza in the first round defeated the American Diana Barbayeva, 15-5, then she outperformed Yiwen Sun from China, 4-3. In the competition’s eighth finals, Ana Maria Branza defeated the Russian Violetta Kolobova, 9-8.
In the quarterfinals, however, the Romanain fencer had to bow out, as she sustained a defeat by Julia Revesz from Hungary, by the narrowest of margins, 7-8. In the finals, Ana Maria came on the 5th position. Simona Pop was defeated in the ver first round by Kolobova, 15-7, while Maria Udrea and Raluca Sbarcia failed to get themselves in the competition’ s main draw. The Swiss Tiffany Geroudet managed a 15 to 10 win in the match against Julia Beljajeva.
For her performance, Radio Romania International designated Ana Maria Branza the Athlete of the Week.The top-flight Romanian fencer was born on November 26, 1984. In 2001 she became a world cadets champion in Poland, while in 2002 she became a world juniors champion in Turkey. Also in 2002 Ana Maria Branza was ranked 3rd in the world seniors championships in Lisbon. In the Athens Olympics she was ranked 16th, while in Beijing Ana Maria Branza walked away with silver. In 2010 and 2011 the Romanian fencer won the world epee title with Romania’ s national team.
