Tarjanyi triumphs for Hungary, Jana collects fourth gold

Stand-out performances from Hungary’s Istvan Tarjanyi and Thailand’s Saysunee Jana highlighted competition at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Eger, Hungary, on Saturday.

Tarjanyi secured his first World Cup win of the season, coming into form just 10 days before the European Championships in Warsaw, Poland.

Competing against Paralympic silver medallist Adrian Castro in the men’s sabre category B, Tarjanyi impressed and added to his bronze from the last World Cup in Pisa in September.

Castro’s teammate, Michal Dabrowski, also stepped onto the podium with bronze for Poland. France’s Maxime Valet was the other bronze medallist as both men added to silvers won in the respective foil and epee earlier on the competition.

Thailand’s Saysunee Jana delivered a masterclass in the women’s foil category B to claim her fourth World Cup win of the season in the weapon.

The victory crowns Jana’s best ever foil season. The veteran showed how adaptable she is after experiencing huge success in the epee over a 14-year career, including two Paralympic titles and a medal at every edition since Athens 2004.

Her opponent, Hong Kong’s Yuen Ping Chung, secured her second silver of 2022.

The USA’s Ellen Geddes also rounded off her most successful season with a third bronze and fourth podium finish in the foil. It follows on from Geddes winning her first major titles at the Americas Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in October.

Nga Ting Tong made it a podium double for Hong Kong with the other bronze.

Hong Kong’s multiple Paralympic champion and national treasure Yu Chui Ye was victorious in the women’s foil category A for the second time this season, making the podium in the weapon for the third consecutive World Cup.

Italy’s Andreea Mogos swept aside Ukraine’s Paralympic silver medallist Nataliia Morkvych for a place in the final against Ye. However Ye just had the edge to push Mogos into second.

Morkvych did however take bronze alongside Hungary’s European champion Eva Andreja Hajmasi.

Great Britain’s World Championships bronze medallist Piers Gilliver went up against Hungary’s European vice-champion Richard Osvath in the final of the men’s sabre category A.

Gilliver emerged the victor from this clash of the titans by a narrow two-point margin, setting-up another exciting competition for the upcoming European Championships.

Italy’s Edoardo Giordan – the other World Championships bronze medallist – and France’s Ludovic Lemoine finished third.

The Eger 2022 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup concludes in Hungary on Sunday with the team events.

Photos are available for editorial use here.