Georgian fencer wins World Cup competition

Georgian fencer Sandro Bazadze celebrated his first victory of the New Year by claiming victory at a Fencing World Cup competition in Turkey over the weekend.

Bazadze took first place at the International Fencing Federation's Satellite event in Turkish capital Istanbul where he competed along with 12 other Georgians.

The young Georgian athlete overcame Canada's Joseph Polossifakis in the tournament's final for the sabre category with a score 15:13.

Polossifakis had beaten Bazadze's brother Beka in his semifinal match while the eventual winner had eliminated his teammate Mikheil Mardaleishvili in his play-off fixture.

The three Georgian athletes contributed to the national team's total for medals at the competition than ran on January 9 and 10.

The tournament featured by eight male and five female fencers from Georgia.

Bazadze became the first Georgian to win a gold medal at the European youth fencing championships in 2013 while he also claimed gold medal at the Under 23 European Championship in Tbilisi in 2014.

Following the Istanbul event the national team members will participate in a joint training with their Russian counterparts later in the month before departing for World- and European Cup competitions in Italy starting January 29.