Youssef Shamel reaches World Cup last 16 after wins over Israel and Kazakhstan

Egypt’s Youssef Shamel has reached the last 16 of the World Cup for epee in Switzerland after recording victories over Israeli and Kazakh opponents.

The tournament is being held from 12 to 14 November, with Shamel continuing his challenge for a place on the podium after progressing through two rounds of the main draw.

Shamel began his knockout campaign with a narrow 15-14 victory over Israel’s Fedor Khaberski in the main last-64 round. The result eliminated Khaberski from the competition and kept the Egyptian fencer’s hopes of winning a world medal alive.

He then produced a more decisive performance in the last 32, defeating Kazakhstan’s Kirill Prokhodov 15-10 to secure his place in the last 16.

Shamel had qualified for the main last-64 draw after producing a perfect record in the group stage on Wednesday. He defeated fencers representing the United States, China, Israel, Austria, the Netherlands and Finland.

His next opponent will be Hungary’s Gergely Siklosi, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake. Their last-16 contest is scheduled to take place shortly.

Shamel is regarded as one of the leading emerging talents in epee fencing in Egypt. He recently won a silver medal at the Mediterranean Games, held in Italy from 21 August to 3 September.