China earned the silver medal in the women's team sabre event at the FIE Fencing World Championships after a narrow 45-41 defeat to Hungary in the final in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Wednesday.

The result matched China's best-ever finish in the event at the world championships, equaling the silver medal won in 2003.

China fielded a young lineup of Pan Qimiao, Rao Xueyi, Zhang Xinyi and Wei Jiayi. The team made a fast start in the final, with 17-year-old Pan giving China an early 5-2 advantage before Rao extended the lead to 10-3.

Hungary responded strongly in the third bout and overturned the deficit, leaving China chasing for the remainder of the match.

Rao led a late fightback in the ninth and final bout, cutting Hungary's lead to 44-41, but the European side remained focused to seal the title.

Pan said China had produced a strong display but still needed to improve its execution in attacking exchanges.

Rao also pointed to missed opportunities, saying several unsuccessful attacks proved costly as China attempted to regain control of the match.

China's French coach Cyril Verbrackel, who took charge of the sabre program after the 2024 Paris Olympics, said Hungary's greater experience had played an important role in the final.

He added that China failed to score from 15 attacking moves and said improving the team's efficiency in those situations would be a major focus.

Despite the defeat, the silver medal marked another step forward for the Chinese women's sabre team. China won team gold at the 2025 FIE Women's Sabre World Cup in Heraklion, its first World Cup team title in the event since 2011.

The latest result has further raised expectations ahead of September's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where Pan said the team is gunning for gold medals in both the individual and team competitions.