🇰🇷 JEON HAYOUNG CLAIMS WOMEN'S SABRE TITLE AT ALGIERS WORLD CUP

ALGIERS, ALGERIA - 9 November 2025

World Number 4, Jeon Hayoung of Korea, kicked off the new international fencing season with a gold medal, winning the Women's Individual Sabre title at the World Cup in Algiers. The 24-year-old fencer from Daejeon defeated World Number 7, Sugar Battai of Hungary, in the final with a score of 15-12.

Battai, a two-time team World Champion, claimed the silver medal, securing a strong start to her season.

The bronze medals were shared by two formidable competitors: World Number 2, Yoana Ilieva of Bulgaria, and Alina Mikhailova, representing the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) classification. Ilieva, a 24-year-old former individual World Championship bronze medallist, and Mikhailova, who fought her way through the preliminary rounds to reach the podium, underscore the fierce competition in the first major event of the FIE season.

Jeon, who was part of the Korean team that won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, showed commanding form throughout the direct elimination rounds. Her path to the final included a critical 15-12 win over World Number 12 Nisanur Erbil (TUR) in the last 8 and a 15-7 victory against bronze medallist Mikhailova in the Semi-Final.

In the other half of the draw, Battai’s run was equally impressive, with back-to-back nail-biting 15-14 wins against World Number 5 Despina Georgiadou (GRE) and eventual bronze medallist Ilieva to reach the final.

The final saw Jeon maintain a relentless approach against Battai, securing the 15-12 victory. This latest triumph adds to Jeon's recent success, having also claimed individual and team gold at the 2025 World University Games.

Full results from the Algiers World Cup are available here.