Russia's Dmitry Zherebchenko, left, will begin the defence of his men's foil title against Hamid Sintes of Algeria at the World Fencing Championships ©Getty Images

Russia's Dmitry Zherebchenko is set to begin the defence of his men's foil title against Hamid Sintes of Algeria after the final 64 athletes in the division were confirmed following the conclusion of the qualification phase at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi.

As one of the top 16 seeds, Zherebchenko was exempt from the opening rounds at the Wuxi Sports Centre Gym.

Sintes set up a meeting with the 2017 world champion after he beat Mohamed Essam of Egypt 15-8 in the round of 128.

Top seed Alessio Foconi, a member of the Italian squad which claimed the team gold medal in Leipzig last year, is scheduled to take on Peter Joppich of Germany.

In the women's sabre competition, Ukraine's Olga Kharlan will clash with Marissa Ponich of Canada in her opening bout.

Kharlan, a four-time Olympic medallist, is the favourite to top the podium as she bids to defend her title.

Ukraine's Olga Kharlan will clash with Marissa Ponich of Canada in her opening bout ©Getty Images
Ukraine's Olga Kharlan will clash with Marissa Ponich of Canada in her opening bout ©Getty Images

She will be aiming for her third World Championships gold medal having won the women's sabre division in 2013 and 2014.

Chinese fencers produced a good qualification performance, with 20 of their 24 athlete progressing to the round of 64.

"The Chinese fencing team is in the process of reconstruction," Chinese Fencing Association Wang Haibin admitted. 

"Many experienced fencers retired after the 2017 National Games. 

"At the same time, our young fencers haven't collected enough points in international competition, meaning Chinese fencing is at its lowest ranking in history."