Saysunee Jana reached a golden start to her 2026 campaign in the women’s epee category B. The multiple Paralympic and world champion stunned the field once again, leaving her opponents wondering if anyone can stop her. 

But it was no easy match for Jana who faced Hong Kong, China’s Nga Ting Tong. Tong put up a quality defence against the Thai fencer, taking the match all the way to 14-14 before Jana managed to land the winning touch. 

“I’m happy about the gold medal but I could not show my best fencing today. I don’t know what it was,” Jana reflected after her latest victory. 

Two Neutral Para Athletes – Viktoria Boykova and Kristina Fiaklistava – took the two bronzes on offer. 

Turkiye’s Hakan Akkaya was the victor in the men’s foil category A, bringing his form from 2025 into the new season with a convincing victory over Hungarian titan Richard Osvath. 

The final score was 15-6 for Akkaya’s second consecutive World Cup win in Pisa having also triumphed in 2025. 

“The feeling is of course different because the competition was harder,” Akkaya said. “All the countries are here and I need this, to fence with the best athletes. I have been very happy all day. I am training every day and try my best in training and competition. I’m so happy today that I won. 

“For me, the Chinese in foil are very good so I need to fence them. But Osvath is a very good fencer and when I started fencing he was the best of the best so it was good to beat him.”

Two Italians registered the hosts on the medals table. Emanuele Lambertini, the 2023 world champion, and Luca Platania Parisi, both claimed bronze. It was Platania Parisi’s first top three finish in foil at a World Cup. 

Great Britain’s Paralympic and world champion Dimitri Coutya went toe-toe with Italy’s Michele Massa in the final of the men’s foil category A. 

It was a gruelling bout for both fencers with Massa benefitting from competing at home, but Coutya showed his superior quality against the Italian. He executed an impressive comeback to triumph by two points in the end. 

“I feel good. I’ve taken a long time out of competition – I only competed at the World Championships last year”, Coutya said. “It’s good to come back and begin to work on the things we’ve been looking at in training and I can see some of it working here but there’s more to do. I feel positive knowing there’s a clear goal for the next competition.” 

Brazil’s Rio 2026 Paralympic champion Jovane Guissone reminded his opponents that he is still a podium threat by claiming bronze. Hong Kong, China’s, Sean Glass also secured bronze. 

South Korea’s Paralympic silver medallist Hyo Kyeong Kwon achieved her latest World Cup gold in the women’s epee category A. Kwon was competing against Israel’s Linor Kelman, only appearing in her second final at this level and who will be delighted with silver. 

Great Britain’s Gemma Collis and Neutral Para Athlete Alena Evdokimova reached their latest World Cup podiums, taking home a bronze each. 

The Pisa 2026 Para Fencing World Cup continues on Friday with the men’s sabre and women’s foil category A and B. The evening session, featuring the finals in the women’s foil category A and men’s sabre category B, will see hosts Italy showcase two of their junior fencers, Mirko Moretto and Lorenzo Frigo. Moretti and Frigo will take-part in an exhibition match to highlight the attractive and competitive nature of wheelchair fencing for young people in particular.