Jana rises to the top in Terni

The win follows a consistent run of form for the Athens 2004 and London 2012 Paralympic champion, who is unbeaten at a World Cup since 2020 and is the reigning Asian title holder.

But since the Worlds in Eger eight years ago – at both the 2017 and 2019 editions – Jana had failed to reclaim her gold.

That all changed on Thursday as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallist made her mark once more. It is her fifth world title since she made her debut in 2010.

Her opponent, South Korea’s Eun Hyo Cho, will also be delighted with a silver medal at her own maiden World Championships.

Chinese debutant Kang Su emerged the victor from her bronze medal bout, alongside Italy’s Rossana Pasquino who secured her first epee podium finish at this level.

All matches can be watched back on demand at wheelchair fencing’s website, alongside results. Photos for editorial use are also available here.

Making his own contribution to the history books was Artem Manko in the men’s sabre category A.

Facing Great Britain’s Piers Gilliver – the favourite from the form book – Manko got past Gilliver to take Ukraine’s first title of the week.

China’s Tokyo 2020 podium finisher Jianquan Tian claimed his latest medal with bronze. And Edoardo Giordan joined teammate Pasquino in taking a top three finish for the hosts.

The other two golds on day three of Terni 2023 went to China.

Yanke Feng headlined their efforts by extending his winning streak and perfect record to a trio of golds.

The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist improved on his silver from 2019 resisting a come-back from long-time rival Adrian Castro of Poland. The first half of the match went all Feng’s way. But Castro caught up in the latter stages to put real pressure on the Chinese fencer by drawing level, and then taking a one-point lead.

Feng was then forced to equal the score himself at 14-14. A tense conclusion saw the win awarded to him by the slimmest of margins. Clearly emotional, Feng was delighted to take the gold.

Feng’s teammate Jie Zhang stood alongside him on the podium in third. Poland also celebrated a double podium finish as Michal Dabrowski took the other bronze.

An all-Chinese final in the women’s epee category A saw Rio 2016 Paralympic champion Xufeng Zou emerge the victor against Haiyan Gu.

Yuandong Chen rounded off a trio of Chinese fencers to make the podium with bronze. Poland’s Marta Fidrych reached her first World Championships epee podium since 2015, securing the other bronze medal.

The 2013 Wheelchair Fencing World Championships continue on Friday (6 October) with the women’s team epee and men’s team sabre.