Greek sabre (fencing) champion Dora Gkountoura won the silver medal at the Istanbul Satellite Tournament 2026, Sept 19, opening the new season with her first international podium finish since a layoff caused by health problems.
Gkountoura was in strong form from the start. She won all six of her pool bouts, earning a direct place in the main draw of 32.
She opened the knockout rounds with a 15-6 win over Britain’s Hannah O’Reilly, then beat Marleen Bouwhuis of the Netherlands 15-11. In the quarterfinals she defeated Italy’s Maria Clementina Poli 15-9, securing a medal.
The semifinal against Veronika Vasileva went down to the final touch. Gkountoura prevailed 15-14 to reach the gold-medal bout.
There she met Turkey’s Nisanur Erbil. The match stayed close throughout, but Erbil took the decisive points and won 15-13.
