Jana, Gilliver complete World Cup hat-tricks
21/05/2022
Thailand’s Saysunee Jana and Great Britain’s Piers Gilliver stormed to their third gold medals at the 2022 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Chon Buri, Thailand, on Saturday (21 May).
The wins mean Jana and Gilliver end the individual competition with perfect records ahead of Sunday’s team events.
All semi-finals and finals are available on demand at IWAS Wheelchair Fencing’s website alongside live results.
Jana completed her hat-trick of golds for the hosts in the women’s foil category B.
Having already collected wins in the epee and sabre on previous days, Jana went into the final against Hong Kong’s Yuen Ping Chung full of confidence.
The Thai fencer sailed past her opponent 15-3 but Yuen will be pleased with her best ever finish in the weapon.
South Korea’s Eun Hye Cho continued to impress in her debut season, collecting her second foil bronze of the year after achieving the same colour in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in April.
Beijing 2008 Paralympic champion and Asian title holder Yui Chong Chan of Hong Kong secured the other bronze.
Great Britain’s World Championships bronze medallist Piers Gilliver let out shouts of delight after he won his third gold in as many days in the men’s sabre category A.
Gilliver – the World ranked No.6 – faced a tough final against Hungary’s European silver medallist Richard Osvath. Buoyed by his past performances, Gilliver landed two hits in a row to reach the magic 15 points and leave Osvath with silver.
Germany’s Maurice Schmidt, competing in his season debut, grabbed bronze. Worlds bronze medallist Edoardo Giordan of Italy secured the final podium place.
Yui’s teammate Yu Chui Yee reached an even better result in the women’s foil category A, topping the standings.
The Rio 2016 Paralympic silver medallist added to her bronze from the epee, just getting past Hungarian World No.2 and European title holder Eva Andreja Hajmasi 15-12.
Italy’s Andreea Mogos, the European silver medallist, claimed bronze alongside another South Korean – Kwon Hyeo Kyeong. Kwon is enjoying a great start to the season with her fifth podium finish across weapons.
Polish Euros gold medallist Adrian Castro was the victor in the men’s sabre category B on his first outing of 2022. He overcame France’s Maxime Valet for gold.
Bronze went to Italy’s Gianmarco Paolucci for his second sabre podium of the season. France’s Marc Andre Cratere also landed in the sabre top three for the first time since 2015.
The 2022 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup concludes in Chon Buri on Sunday (22 May) with the men’s sabre team, women’s foil and the new mixed gender epee team.
Live coverage is available of every semi-final and final at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing website alongside live results.