The 29-year-old world number one, who won bronze at last year's World Championships in Cairo, defeated Italy's Riccardo Nuccio in the final at the Spanish capital's Polideportivo Municipal Gallur.

In the semi-finals, Bazadze, who agonisingly lost a bronze medal contest at Tokyo 2020, saw off France's world silver medallist Maxime Pianfetti 15-11.

Nuccio got past Italian team-mate Enrico Berrè, an Olympic silver medallist in the team competition in Tokyo, 15-6 in his last four clash.

Both beaten semi-finalists collected bronze medals.

Hungary's Áron Szilágyi, the reigning world champion who has won the last three Olympic gold medals in a row, suffered a surprise 15-14 defeat to Iran's Ali Pakdaman in the last 16.

Szilágyi did have something to celebrate, however, as Hungary won the team event by beating United States in the final.

He teamed up with Tamás Decsi, Csanád Gémesi and András Szatmári to record a 45-42 victory.

Iran and Italy won the bronze medals.

Fencing's qualification window for the Paris 2024 Olympics has now opened but it has been embroiled in controversy after the FIE allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to return, following the invasion of Ukraine.

World Cups in Bonn and Tauberbischofsheim in Germany, Poznań in Poland and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés in France have all been cancelled after the host nations all refused to accept the decision.