Ioana Ilieva won a silver medal in sabre among women at the Fencing World Cup tournament in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), BTA reports. 151 competitors from 26 countries participated in the competition, and the Bulgarian once again demonstrated excellent form and consolidated her place among the leading sabre fencers in the world.
In the eliminations, Ilieva began with a dramatic victory over Italian Rebecca Gargano with 15:14. She then eliminated Elena Hernandez (Spain) with 15:13, and in the round of 16 she convincingly dealt with Qimiao Pan (China) – 15:9. In the quarterfinals, the Bulgarian defeated Jeong-mi Kim (South Korea) 15:8, and in the semifinals, she left no chance for Palina Kaspirovic (Azerbaijan), winning 15:6.
In the final, Ilieva faced Alina Mihaylova, competing under a neutral flag, but lost 6:15 and was left with the silver medal.
The other Bulgarian representatives also registered for participation in the tournament. Emma Neykova passed the first round after a victory over Mariela Viale (Italy), but then lost to the fifth in the world rankings Michela Battiston and finished in 24th place. Veronika Vasileva was eliminated in her first match after a defeat by the Hungarian Anna Spietz and ranked 43rd.