Chinese prodigy Pan denied gold amid controversy at cadet fencing worlds

China's teenage fencer Pan Qimiao settled for silver in the cadet women's individual sabre event at the 2025 Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships on Tuesday, following a contentious final decision that overshadowed her valiant comeback.

The 15-year-old prodigy, who claimed junior bronze just a day earlier, stormed to a 3-0 lead against Romania's Amalia Covaliu in the gold-medal bout. However, Covaliu rallied to take five consecutive points, leaving Pan trailing 8-5 at halftime. After the time-out, Pan clawed back to level at 14-14, saving three match points in a heart-stopping finale.

The decisive touch saw both fencers' lights activate simultaneously. After reviewing footage, the referee controversially awarded the point to Covaliu, ruling that Pan's parry attempt missed the blade during a "right of way" exchange. Despite video evidence showing Covaliu stepping out of bounds during the final action - a fact confirmed by side judge - the call stood unchallenged.

"She deserved victory," said China's French head coach Cyril Verbrackel. "Covaliu's initial attack failed. Pan retreated, created distance, and scored cleanly without any defensive blade contact. Priority should have remained with her."

Visibly emotional post-match, Pan admitted, "I truly believed it was my point. It's tough, but I'll treat this as a lesson."

Verbrackel praised his athlete's resilience: "She's 15. How can she believe the sport is fair? She deserves to be world champion. But that's life, and she'll learn. I'm sure she'll come back stronger."

In the cadet men's individual sabre final, Emilio Paturzo Gonzalez of the United States defeated Turkey's Candeniz Berrak 15-11 for gold.

Scheduled for Tuesday are the junior team sabre events, where Pan and teammates face Ukraine in a high-stakes opener after a first-round bye.