Montréal, May 19, 2013 (Courtesy of Sportcom) – Sabre athlete Joseph Polossifakis had an outstanding performance Sunday in Poland. The Quebec native made it to the round of 16 at the Warsaw Grand Prix and finished the competition in 11th place.

“The good streak continues! It’s good to have a little more consistency. Another top 16 in a Grand Prix, gives me points in the standings. It should move me up to a ranking of 15th or 16th in the world which is quite exceptional for me,” noted the 22 year old Montrealer.

Not required to compete in the qualifications round due to his 17th world ranking, Polossifakis faced Korean Kim Kye Hwan in the round of 64. After a hard fought battle, the Quebec native won 15-14 against the Korean who was the silver medalist earlier this season at the Grand Prix in Budapest.

“He’s very explosive. I managed to fence well against him and led 13-8 and 14-9,” explained Polossifakis. “Then he changed his game and he started to try a few desperate moves that worked out for him. From my perspective, I just eased up and he brought the score to 14-14. Fortunately I regrouped and finished it in style. Losing that match would have been a blow to my confidence. ”

Polossifakis then defeated Poland’s Adam Skrodzki, ranked 44th in the world by a score of 15-11. “Being in his home country, he had the crowd behind him. I started off slow allowing him to take the lead 8-4. He had the momentum and it worked for him until the break,” said Polossifakis. “I decided to change my tactics and, from that moment on things turned around for me. It became a one-sided match. I scored eleven points after the break and I managed to finish the job. I was very pleased with this performance. ”

It was the Italian Luigi Samele who ended Polossifakis’ day in the round of 16. The 10th ranked swordsman defeated the Quebecer 15-8.

“He is a very good competitor however I struggled to understand some decisions made by the referee. I made some attacks that I felt were in my favour, but the points went in favour of the Italian instead. I tried to adapt, but the referee continued to give him the points. I just lost my concentration. This is a match that I would like to do over again, “said Polossifakis. Samele went on to finish the event in 5th place.

Polossifakis will be back in action in mid-June at the Pan American Championships in Cartagena, Columbia where he will be defending his title.

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