đź‡đź‡ş BATTAI BRILLIANT IN ATHENS TO CLAIM SECOND CAREER WORLD CUP TITLE
Updated: Aug 5
ATHENS, GREECE — 18 APRIL 2026
Hungary’s Sugár Katinka Battai reasserted herself as a top-tier force on the international circuit, capturing the gold medal at the rescheduled Athens Women’s Sabre World Cup. The 2025 European Championship bronze medallist, ranked World number 7, delivered a masterful performance to secure her second career senior World Cup title—winning the exact same event she first conquered in 2023. In a high-octane final, Battai defeated individual neutral athlete Yana Egorian 15–9.
Egorian (AIN), the legendary Rio 2016 Olympic Champion and reigning World Champion, took home the silver medal, marking her second podium of the 2025–26 campaign. The bronze medals were awarded to Ukraine’s veteran star Alina Komashchuk and Hungary's Luca Szűcs in an exceptionally competitive weekend in Greece.
Path to the Podium
Sugár Katinka Battai (World number 7) looked in spectacular form from her very first bout, cruising through the opening rounds with single-digit victories over China's Ye Minhui and the USA's Siobhan Sullivan. Her championship credentials were truly tested in the quarter-finals against a red-hot Alina Mikhailova (AIN), the two-time champion this season. Battai dug deep to edge out a 15–13 thriller before controlling an all-Hungarian semi-final against Szűcs and confidently dictating the final against Egorian.
Yana Egorian (World number 6) engineered a brilliant run to the silver medal, showcasing her trademark tactical grit. Her toughest test came in a star-studded round of 16 clash against Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Sara Balzer (FRA), where Egorian survived a nerve-shredding 15–14 cliffhanger. After grinding past the USA's Maia Chamberlain 15–13 in the quarter-finals, she out-touched Komashchuk in the final four to punch her ticket to the final.
Alina Komashchuk (World number 9) opened her season's podium account with an incredibly resilient display. After surviving a 15–14 opening scare against France's Mouroux, the reigning World bronze medallist found her rhythm. She systematically eliminated top-tier talent, including Spain's LucĂa MartĂn-PortuguĂ©s, before pulling off a monumental 15–13 quarter-final upset against World number 2 and reigning European Champion Sarah Noutcha (FRA) to guarantee her bronze.
Luca Szűcs (World number 20) played the role of bracket destroyer in Athens to secure her maiden podium of the campaign. In the round of 32, she completely upended the draw by dominating World number 3 Yoana Ilieva (BUL) 15–9. Szűcs proved that was no fluke in the round of 16 by eliminating veteran French star Cécilia Berder 15–11, before cruising past Alena Lisina (AIN) 15–8 in the quarter-finals.
