Sugar Katinka Battai overcame a field of two hundred and four sabreurs when she scored a 15-9 victory over defending World champion (Tbilisi 2025) Yana Egorian of _AIN at the World Cup in Athens, Greece.
In the semifinals Battai defeated countrymate Luca Szucs 15-10, while Egorian bested world bronze medalist (Tbilisi 2025) Alina Komaschuk of Ukraine 15-13. Szucs and Komaschuk both earned bronze.
There were three notable upsets in the round of 64. Eighth ranked Kim Jeongmi of Korea was bested by 49th ranked Gabriela Maria Lin Hwang of Puerto Rico 15-6, 11th ranked Alina Mikhailova of _AIN, who won the last two Grand Prix in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in March and Tunis, Tunisia in January fell to 159th ranked Anastasia Fusea of Romania 15-14, and defending World silver medallist (Tbilisi 2025) and 19th ranked Zuzanna Cieslar of Poland lost to 97th ranked Carlotta Fusetti of Italy 15-2.
Third ranked Yoana Ilieva of Bulgaria was ousted by Szucs 15-9 in the round of thirty-two.
Final Ranking - Women’s Individual Sabre
Sugar Katinka Battai (HUN, Gold)
Yana Egorian (_AIN, Silver)
Luca Szucs (HUN, Bronze)
Alina Komaschuk (UKR, Bronze)
Sarah Noutcha (FRA)
Maia Chamberlain (USA)
Alena Lisina (_AIN)
Aleksandra Mikhailova (_AIN)
France topped a field of 22 teams to capture gold in the women’s sabre team competition in Athens, Greece, defeating Korea 45–42 in a dramatic final.
After receiving a bye into the round of 16, the top-seeded French squad cruised past Uzbekistan 45–25 and Bulgaria 45–31 to reach the semifinals.
Their first true challenge came against fourth-seeded Hungary. In a tightly contested, back-and-forth match featuring four lead changes, Hungary held a narrow 40–39 advantage heading into the ninth and final leg. Paris 2024 silver medallist Sara Balzer, who posted an impressive +9 indicator, delivered under pressure—outscoring Luca Szucs 6–3 to send France into the final.
The gold medal bout against Korea proved even more dramatic. Trailing 21–24 after five legs, France mounted a comeback sparked once again by Balzer, who defeated Seo Jiyeon 9–3 to give France its first lead at 30–28. From there, the French team maintained control and closed out the match 45–42 to secure the title.
Korea reached the final with a 45–37 semifinal victory over Japan. In the bronze medal match, Japan edged Hungary in a nail-biting 45–44 finish.
Final Rankings – Women’s Team Sabre
France – Gold
Sara Balzer, Manon Apithy, Sarah Noutcha, Toscane Tori
Korea – Silver
Jeon Hayoung, Kim Jeongmi, Seo Jiyeon, Choi Sebin
Japan – Bronze
Ozaki Seri, Sano Yui, Kaneko Yuina, Takahashi, Chirika
Hungary
_AIN
Spain
Italy
Bulgaria