Despite Team Nigeria’s inability to secure a podium finish at the recently concluded World Junior Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China, the Nigeria Fencing Federation has described the event as a valuable learning experience for the team.
The six-man Nigerian squad was led by Nigeria’s highest-ranked fencer, Inkosi Brou. It included home-based fencer Wisdom Okanlawon, the Idongesit siblings—Mahadi, Mahathir, Sara and America-based Peluola Akinbamiro.
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Although all the athletes struggled to advance beyond the first round, Brou defeated Bulgaria’s Nikola Gospodinov 15-12 before falling to Hungary’s Sultan Stanbek 15-13 in the second round of the individual event.
Okanlawon demonstrated tenacity and skill in the team event, particularly during the first-round loss against New Zealand.
His performance earned praise from the President of British Fencing, Pat Aiyenuro, who described the 17-year-old as a future star.
President of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, Adeyinka Samuel, commended the athletes for their conduct and performance, noting that they competed against some of the best fencers in the world.
“I must commend the athletes for their conduct and display during the championships. This again showed us that we have the potential to compete against the rest of the world. They were no pushovers as they showed maturity and composure on the field of play.
This experience has added to their growth, and they now know they are being watched worldwide. I am so happy that we took part in the tournament, and this is a good warm-up for our fencers going into the African Championships in June,” Samuel said.
