In fencing, 395 athletes from 44 countries competed for 16 team quotas and 12 individual quotas at the 2021 FIE Sabre World Cup which saw quotas allocated for 17 nations.

Four teams of 18 gave their utmost in handball to clinch one of two team quotas at the Women’s Handball Qualifying Tournament in Győr, with Russia and Hungary emerging triumphant. The other two European locations featured Spain and Montenegro with the national teams of Spain, Sweden, Montenegro and Norway qualifying respectively.

As for wrestling, 280 athletes coming from 35 countries fought it out for 36 quotas at the 2021 Wrestling European Olympic Qualifier in Budapest, where Bálint Korpási received a surprising gift besides his Olympic qualification. More information below.

The UIPM Pentathlon World Cup held in the Hungarian capital provides 172 athletes of 37 countries the opportunity to earn important points for Olympic qualification. Altogether, there are still 3 events scheduled until qualification ends with Székesfehérvár set to stage the World Cup Finals.

A promise made is a promise kept

HOC President Krisztián Kulcsár made a promise to Greco-Roman wrestler Bálint Korpási competing in the 72kg division at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships: if he managed to lose weight and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the 67kg division, the NOC President would give his company car to Korpási.

Through the herculean effort of Korpási, he managed to wrestle his way to the finals of the 2021 Wrestling European Olympic Qualifier, thereby securing his place at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad held in the Japanese capital. The wrestler and his team shared many jokes that it is now up to the President to hold up his end of the bargain, although, they did not give much credit to his promise made in Nur-Sultan. The sports leader, however, true to his word, gave the company Lexus reserved for the HOC President to Korpási which is his to use until October 2021.

(Hungarian Olympic Committee, photo: HOC/Szalmás Péter)