China continue to impress at wheelchair fencing World Cup

Chinese fencers left the 2019 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with six gold medals between 14-17 November.

China earned their impressive haul at the Sporthallen Zuid where athletes began the 2019-2020 season and the final build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

World champion Shumei Tan beat Thailand’s Saysunee Jana 15-13 in the women’s epee category B, bringing her number of World Cup wins to five.

Russians Viktoria Boykova and Irina Mishurova were the bronze medallists.

There was also success for China in the women’s epee category A and men’s sabre A finals, through Jing Rong and Jianquan Tian respectively.

Rong defeated compatriot Xufeng Zou, the reigning world and Paralympic champion, 15-11 to secure victory in the epee.

The bronze medals went to Ukraine’s Yevheniia Breus and Hong Kong’s Yu Chui Yee.

Tian, meanwhile, overcame Ukraine’s Andrii Demchuk 15-9 to clinch top honours in the sabre.

The podium was rounded off by Great Britain’s Piers Gilliver and Germany’s Maurice Schmidt.

Sun Gang of China narrowly defeated Hungary’s Richard Osvath to claim gold in the men’s foil category A.

Sun earned China’s latest gold medal of the competition after edging past Osvath 15-14.

His compatriots Liqiang Chen and Sai Chun Zhong were the bronze medallists.

China claimed both team golds on offer in the women’s epee and men’s foil on Sunday (17 November).

Jing Bian, Jing Rong, Shumei Tan and Xufeng Zou topped the podium 45-36 against Russia in the epee.

Top seeds Ukraine had to settle for bronze.

The Chinese men’s foil team also secured gold against Russia.

Chen, Daoliang Hu, Sun and Zhong had the edge as they triumphed 45-30 over Roman Fedyaev, Albert Kamalov, Nikita Nagaev and Artur Yusupov.

The Italian trio of Matteo Betti, Marco Cima and Emanuele Lambertini rounded-off the podium.

Three golds for Great Britain

Dimitri Coutya starred in a great performance for Great Britain, the hosts of next year’s European Championships.

Coutya – the world champion –  topped the men’s epee category B podium after easing past Russia’s Alexander Kuzyukov 15-5.

Bronze went to Brazil’s Jovane Guissone and French fencer Yohan Peter.

Coutya then overcame China’s Paralympic silver medallist Daoliang Hu 15-10 in the men’s foil category B final.

Hu’s teammate Yanke Feng and France’s Maxime Valet were the bronze medallists.

Piers Gilliver followed on from his first world title at the 2019 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in September, winning the men’s epee category A.

Gilliver defeated Russia’s Maxim Shaburov 15-9 in the final. China’s Zhong Sai Chun and Sun Gang took the bronze medals.

Italy double-up

In the women’s sabre category B Rossanna Pasquino shocked Chinese world champion Tan.

Pasquino was the victor with a 15-7 scoreline, while Olena Fedota and Nadiia Doloh of Ukraine finished with bronze.

Paralympic champion Beatrice Vio took her latest gold in the women’s foil B, maintaining her nearly year-long unbeaten run in the weapon.

Vio dominated the gold-medal match against China’s Zhou Jingjing, with the Italian winning 15-4.

Russia’s Irina Mishurova and Viktoria Boykova took home bronze medals.

The best of the rest

Poland’s Kinga Drozdz secured her second women’s sabre A World Cup win of 2019.

Drozdz faced Hungary’s Eva Andrea Hajmasi for gold, beating her 15-8.

China’s Wang Xiujian and Ukraine’s Yevheniia Breus completed the podium.

Greece’s Panagiotis Triantafyllou emerged as the gold medallist in the men’s sabre category B.

He beat Russia’s Istvan Tarjanyi 15-9 in the final.

Poland’s Adrian Castro and Italy’s Gianmarco Paolucci, the beaten semi-finalists, rounded-off the top three.

Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Krajnyak triumphed in the women’s foil A, after overcoming Ukraine’s Nataliia Morkvych 15-12 in the final.

Hajmasi claimed a bronze medal after losing to her compatriot Krajnyak in the semi-finals, with Italy’s Andrea Mogos earning the final podium spot.

Fencers will now have a break but will resume the World Cup calendar in Eger, Hungary, from 14-16 February.

Young fencers will also get the chance to impress on the world stage when they take to piste for the 2020 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing under 17 and under 23 World Championships. The competition will run as part of the 2020 IWAS World Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, from 22-28 February.

The 2020 European Championships will take place in Hatfield, Great Britain, in May.