Akinyosoye is Nigeria’s highest-ranked fencer
Following a standout performance on the 23rd African Fencing Championships, Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye has emerged as Nigeria’s most sensible probably-ranked fencer globally.
The most modern rankings launched by the Global Fencing Federation (FIE) earlier this week situation Akinyosoye at sixty fifth in the boys’s senior sabre category.
Akinyosoye, a quarterfinalist in the person men’s sabre tournament, skittish spectators by defeating high seed and Olympic silver medallist, Fares Farjani of Tunisia, in a annoying preliminary round bout, edging him 5-4 at Charterhouse Lagos.
The 20-year-frail UK-primarily primarily based mostly athlete, who previously represented England at cadet and junior stages, has now overtaken Inkosi Brou as Nigeria’s high-ranked fencer.
With out reference to being displaced in the senior rankings, Brou remains Nigeria’s most sensible probably-ranked junior fencer, holding the 23rd situation globally. In the senior men’s epee category, Mahadi Idongesit leads the Nigerian contingent at 206th, followed by Knowledge Okanlawon (209), Mahathir Idongesit (212), and Adegbola Babade (215).
For senior men’s foil, Oritsematosan Egbesemirone is ranked 116th, with Olumuyiwa Ige (502) and Alex Aninyei (504) also making the checklist. Amongst the females, 13-year-frail Peluola Akinbamiro is Nigeria’s sole representative in the senior females’s foil rankings, placed at 441st.
In senior females’s epee, Adebodunrin Thomas leads at 186th, followed by Sara Idongesit (190) and Somtochukwu Eribenne (530). Team rankings also noticed a boost. The Nigerian females’s epee group, which accomplished fifth on the African Championships, is now ranked thirty sixth globally.
In the senior men’s group rankings, Nigeria holds Forty third in epee and Twenty eighth in foil. Speaking on the rankings, the day before this day, the President of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, Adeyinka Samuel, described it as a mirrored image of the nation’s increasing doable in the game.
“Web internet hosting the African Championships used to be no longer with regards to welcoming global athletes; it used to be about empowering our fencers to enhance their global standing,” Samuel acknowledged, including: “These rankings originate doors for our athletes to take part in more global tournaments and give a boost to their prospects of qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
He added, “We are smitten by this model and hope this could perhaps entice the strengthen mandatory from each and every the private and public sectors, in particular following the success of the 23rd African Championships.”
