Latest news with #WorldFencingChampionships

Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Russian Yana Egorian wins women's sabre gold at world fencing championships as neutral athlete
Find out what's new on ST website and app. From left: Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar (silver), individual neutral athlete Yana Egorian (gold) and China's Pan Qimiao Pan (bronze) at the medal ceremony for the women's sabre individual competition at the FIE Fencing World Championships in Tbilisi on July 27, 2025. Russian Yana Egorian won gold in the women's sabre at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia on Sunday, where she was competing as a neutral athlete. Egorian, a gold medallist in both the individual and team sabre events at the Rio Olympics, claimed a 15-11 victory over Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar in the final in Tbilisi. Russian Kirill Borodachev won silver in the men's individual foil earlier in the competition, also as a neutral athlete. 'I'm very happy. Today was very difficult, especially when I fenced with Lisa Pusztai (round of 64),' Egorian said. 'I spoke with my coach, and he understood what I didn't do right, and after that I fenced better. Now I want to win the (next) Olympic Games.' The decision by the sport's global governing body (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the event sparked a backlash from Ukraine's fencing federation, which said it was considering legal action over the inclusion of athletes with Russian military ranks. More than 440 fencers from 40 countries signed an open letter urging the FIE to reinstate rigorous background checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral status. The FIE has said its decision 'underscores the federation's commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport'. REUTERS


The Hindu
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Russian Egorian wins gold at World Fencing Championships as neutral athlete
Russian Yana Egorian won gold in the women's sabre at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia on Sunday, where she was competing as a neutral athlete. Egorian, a gold medallist in both the individual and team sabre events at the Rio Olympics, claimed a 15-11 victory over Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar in the final in Tbilisi. ALSO READ | Fencers urge federation to reinstate checks on 'neutral' Russian, Belarusian athletes ahead of World Championships Russian Kirill Borodachev won silver in the men's individual foil earlier in the competition, also as a neutral athlete. 'I'm very happy. Today was very difficult, especially when I fenced with Lisa Pusztai (round of 64),' Egorian said. 'I spoke with my coach, and he understood what I didn't do right, and after that I fenced better. Now I want to win the (next) Olympic Games.' The decision by the sport's global governing body (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the event sparked a backlash from Ukraine's fencing federation, which said it was considering legal action over the inclusion of athletes with Russian military ranks. More than 440 fencers from 40 countries signed an open letter urging the FIE to reinstate rigorous background checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral status. The FIE has said its decision 'underscores the Federation's commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport'.


RTHK
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet Kaylin Hsieh described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. Photo: RTHK Fencer Kaylin Hsieh said on Monday that this is her strongest season yet, following her successful title defence at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. The 24-year-old claimed the women's individual epee gold, securing the first gold medal for Hong Kong, China, at this year's event. This victory mirrored her win at the previous Games in Chengdu back in 2021. Speaking upon her return, Hsieh, who is currently ranked fourth globally, described her rapid rise in the rankings as surreal. However, she emphasised there remains significant room for improvement and that she can continue pushing her limits. Reflecting on the past year, she mentioned numerous new challenges and changes requiring adaptation, highlighting her recent graduation from the University of Notre Dame, her return to Hong Kong as a full-time athlete and the start of work with a new coach. Despite these transitions, she said she felt she had handled them well. She described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. "I think this is a really great confidence boost because I never really thought I could achieve the goals or the rankings I have now so quickly, and seeing it happen is just really surreal and it just makes me feel like anything is possible, not just for me, but for any one of us as Hong Kong athletes," she said. "Especially for fencing, I hope that gives confidence to the younger ones, the younger and up and coming, because this is just the beginning of a whole new chapter for Hong Kong's history." Looking ahead, Hsieh confirmed her focus is now set on the 2026 World Fencing Championships, which Hong Kong will host, and on pursuing a medal at next year's Asian Games in Japan. She also noted an evolution in her fencing style over the years, attributing it more to mental growth than physical changes. "Of course, the physical is always there. Like, I'm really strong, I'm really fast, but being able to think, and also to do what I think, that's the hard part, and I think that's more of the mental aspect, so the mindset," she said. "I feel like in the recent competitions, I've been more confident, even though sometimes it's normal for me to feel stressed, feel nervous before a competition. But I think I've handled these emotions a lot better than I was before. "Hence, I'm able to perform well this season, and this has been my best fencing season so far, and I'm really glad that the previous work that I've had has been paying off."


RTHK
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet Kaylin Hsieh described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. Photo: RTHK Fencer Kaylin Hsieh said on Monday that this is her strongest season yet, following her successful title defence at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. The 24-year-old claimed the women's individual epee gold, securing the first gold medal for Hong Kong, China, at this year's event. This victory mirrored her win at the previous Games in Chengdu back in 2021. Speaking upon her return, Hsieh, who is currently ranked fourth globally, described her rapid rise in the rankings as surreal. However, she emphasised there remains significant room for improvement and that she can continue pushing her limits. Reflecting on the past year, she mentioned numerous new challenges and changes requiring adaptation, highlighting her recent graduation from the University of Notre Dame, her return to Hong Kong as a full-time athlete and the start of work with a new coach. Despite these transitions, she said she felt she had handled them well. She described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. "I think this is a really great confidence boost because I never really thought I could achieve the goals or the rankings I have now so quickly, and seeing it happen is just really surreal and it just makes me feel like anything is possible, not just for me, but for any one of us as Hong Kong athletes," she said. "Especially for fencing, I hope that gives confidence to the younger ones, the younger and up and coming, because this is just the beginning of a whole new chapter for Hong Kong's history." Looking ahead, Hsieh confirmed her focus is now set on the 2026 World Fencing Championships, which Hong Kong will host, and on pursuing a medal at next year's Asian Games in Japan. She also noted an evolution in her fencing style over the years, attributing it more to mental growth than physical changes. "Of course, the physical is always there. Like, I'm really strong, I'm really fast, but being able to think, and also to do what I think, that's the hard part, and I think that's more of the mental aspect, so the mindset," she said. "I feel like in the recent competitions, I've been more confident, even though sometimes it's normal for me to feel stressed, feel nervous before a competition. But I think I've handled these emotions a lot better than I was before. "Hence, I'm able to perform well this season, and this has been my best fencing season so far, and I'm really glad that the previous work that I've had has been paying off."


The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Fencing-Russian Egorian wins gold at world championships as neutral athlete
(Reuters) -Russian Yana Egorian won gold in the women's sabre at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia on Sunday, where she was competing as a neutral athlete. Egorian, a gold medallist in both the individual and team sabre events at the Rio Olympics, claimed a 15-11 victory over Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar in the final in Tbilisi. Russian Kirill Borodachev won silver in the men's individual foil earlier in the competition, also as a neutral athlete. "I'm very happy. Today was very difficult, especially when I fenced with Lisa Pusztai (round of 64)," Egorian said. "I spoke with my coach, and he understood what I didn't do right, and after that I fenced better. Now I want to win the (next) Olympic Games." The decision by the sport's global governing body (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the event sparked a backlash from Ukraine's fencing federation, which said it was considering legal action over the inclusion of athletes with Russian military ranks. More than 440 fencers from 40 countries signed an open letter urging the FIE to reinstate rigorous background checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral status. The FIE has said its decision "underscores the Federation's commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport". (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)