Nigerian teenagers set for World Fencing Championship
Two Nigerian teenagers, Tammy Ayamasore and Ebuka Ibe will fly the country’s flag at the 2017 Cadet/Junior World Fencing Championship holding from 1st - 10th April in Plovdov, Bulgaria.
Both fencers took part at the 2017 Cadet/Junior African Junior Championship held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire early this month and are among the over 200 fencers from over 60 countries that will feature at the event organised by the world fence governing body, FIE.
At the African championships, Ayamasore, 14, lived up to his pretournament billings as one of Nigeria’s best prospect in the sport reaching the quarterfinals where he lost to the top seed and Egyptian world number two, Mohammed Hamza, who eventually won the Junior category. 15-year-old Ibe had a decent outing as well.
Nigeria Fencing Federation president, Adeyinka Samuel says the federation is optimistic of the fencers posting a good outing.
He said: “We know they will do well not because they will win medal which looks unrealistic given the fact that they are not exposed and experienced. However, going by the steady progress they have been making since they came into the sport less than a year ago we are sure this will be a significant step to what should be a great career in fencing for the boys.
“I was once among the top 100 fencers in the world despite the fact that I started fencing very late which means the boys have better chances than me to be among the best in the world because they are getting exposure at early ages.”