đź“‘ MIKHAILOVA MARKS DOMINANT RUN WITH GOLD IN TASHKENT
Updated: Aug 5
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN — 28 MARCH 2026
World number 19 Alina Mikhailova (AIN) continued her sensational season by capturing the gold medal at the Tashkent Women’s Sabre World Cup, the fourth of the campaign. Mikhailova, who has been in devastating form this season with a bronze at the Algiers World Cup and a gold at the Tunis Grand Prix, added another title to her resume with a comprehensive 15–6 victory over Bulgaria’s Yoana Ilieva in the final.
Ilieva (BUL), the World number 3 and 2023 World Championship bronze medallist, earned the silver medal to back up her podium finish from the Algiers World Cup earlier this season. The bronze medals were shared by two breakthrough stars who each celebrated their first-ever senior international podiums: Palina Kaspiarovich (AZE) and Rao Xueyi (CHN).
Path to the Podium
Alina Mikhailova sent shockwaves through the venue in the early afternoon during her march to gold. After cruise-controlling past her early opponents, she squared off against World number 1 Misaki Emura (JPN) in a blockbuster round of 16 encounter. Mikhailova stunned the two-time World Champion and reigning Asian Champion to clear her path. She then comfortably dispatched Spain’s LucĂa MartĂn-PortuguĂ©s 15–9 in the quarter-finals and out-fenced Rao 15–9 in the semi-finals before completely dominating the final.
Yoana Ilieva (World number 3) survived an absolute scare in her opening match, squeaking past Italy's Rebecca Gargano 15–14 in the round of 64. Once past that hurdle, the Bulgarian star hit her stride, putting on a clinic against China's Pan Qimiao (15–9) in the round of 16 and dominating South Korea’s World number 10 Kim Jiyeon 15–8 in the quarter-finals. A 15–6 semi-final victory over Kaspiarovich safely punched her ticket to the final.
Palina Kaspiarovich (World number 62) authored the ultimate underdog story in Tashkent. Her giant-killing run took off in the round of 32 where she squeezed past World number 7 Alina Komashchuk (UKR) 15–14. She proved that was no fluke in the round of 16 by edging out Spain's veteran star Araceli Navarro 15–13. A 15–10 quarter-final triumph over Valeriya Shorokhova guaranteed Azerbaijan a historic spot on the World Cup podium.
Rao Xueyi (World number 39) guaranteed her maiden senior medal with an exceptionally athletic performance through the bottom half of the draw. Her standout moment came in the round of 16, where she out-dueled the reigning Pan American Champion, Maia Chamberlain (USA), 15–12. She followed this up by eliminating South Korea's Seo Ji-yeon 15–9 in the quarter-finals before being halted by the eventual champion.
