(Reuters) -Russian Yana Egorian won gold in the women's sabre at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia on Sunday, where she was competing as a neutral athlete.
Egorian, a gold medallist in both the individual and team sabre events at the Rio Olympics, claimed a 15-11 victory over Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar in the final in Tbilisi.
Russian Kirill Borodachev won silver in the men's individual foil earlier in the competition, also as a neutral athlete.
"I'm very happy. Today was very difficult, especially when I fenced with Lisa Pusztai (round of 64)," Egorian said.
"I spoke with my coach, and he understood what I didn't do right, and after that I fenced better. Now I want to win the (next) Olympic Games."
The decision by the sport's global governing body (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the event sparked a backlash from Ukraine's fencing federation, which said it was considering legal action over the inclusion of athletes with Russian military ranks.
More than 440 fencers from 40 countries signed an open letter urging the FIE to reinstate rigorous background checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral status.
The FIE has said its decision "underscores the Federation's commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport".
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
