ATHENS, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Hot favorite Russia is facing the toughest task to win the Olympic gold medal of men's sabre team event in Athens after dismal performances in the individual event.

    None of the Russians qualified into the semifinals in the individual competition with Stanislav Pozdniakov finishing at sixth, the best for the team.

    Russian men's sabre team almost pocketed all the glories in the world championships as it won three consecutive world titles from 2001-03.

    The powerhouse also is dreaming of make it three peat with goldmedals in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

    Serguei Charikov, a member of the team since the 1996 Olympics,finished eighth in the individual event last week, while Alexei Diatchenko finishing out of top 16.

    France, Italy and Hungary all have the potential to be crowned in the wide-open event.

    After winning the silver medals in Sydney in 2000, France seldom finished into top three in the world-level competitions. But Julien Pillet and Touya brothers, Damien and Gael, are still among the top-ranked fencers in the world.

    Aldo Montano, gold medallist in the individual event, led the Italian team to take on Ukraine in the second round, which is led by bronze medallist Vladislav Tretiak.

    Hungary won the runners-up in the 2001 and 2003 world championships. The fifth-placed team in Sydney will face the United States in the opener on Thursday. Enditem