By Nick Butler

fencersAugust 7 - Chinese competitors took two gold medals in the foil and sabre categories on the opening day of the International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Championships, as Hong Kong and Italy also secured titles at the Syma Event and Congress Centrein Budapest.


Fao Yang of China won the first gold medal in the women's foil category B division to add to a similar victory in last summer's London Paralympic Games, as she overcame Hong Kong's Chan Yui Chong in the final.

Hong Kong did not have to wait long however to get revenge and reach the highest step of the podium as their number one seed Yu Chui Yee overcame China's Bian Jing to win gold in the category-A class.

In an all Asiatic podium the bronze medals were won by Justine Charissa Ng of Hong Kong and Wu Baili of China, while the home crowd were disappointed by the early elimination of London 2012 bronze medallist Zsuzsanna Krajnyak - who eventually finished fifth.

China dominated the men's sabre category-A event as Yijun Chen beat Jianquan Tian in an all-Chinese affair which was a repeat of the 2012 Paralympic final, where Chen also won in addition to his victory at the 2011 World Championships.

yijun chen 2012Yijun Chen on his way to a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games before he repeated the feat in an all-Chinese final at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest


Ukraine's Andrej Demchuk and Ludovic Lemoine of France each took a bronze medal.

There was European domination in the final event on the opening day as Alessio Sarri of Italy defeated Marc André Cratere of France in the final of the sabre category-B event.

Poland took a double bronze medal courtesy of Adrian Castro and London 2012 winner Grzegorz Pluta.

The Championships are being held alongside the able-bodied World Fencing Championships and it is the fourth occasion that the two events have been held simultaneously following successful partnerships in Turin 2006, Paris 2010 and Catania 2011.

More than 160 wheelchair athletes from 28 countries are competing at the championships, including competitors from Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates: who are each sending players for the first time.

The Championships are due to continue until Monday (August 12) with 14 more titles to be decided over the next five days.

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