Islington resident takes individual silver and team gold

Islington’s Kola Abidogan had reason to celebrate after collecting two medals at the World Veterans Fencing Championships in Livorno, Italy earlier this month.

The 52-year-old was part of the Great Britain squad that took gold in the men’s team foil event, and also collected a silver medal in his individual foil age group category.

In the individual competition, Abidogan dropped one bout in the seeding round of the 50-59 age group to be seeded 14th for the competition proper.

The Islington resident came through a tough opening fight against Italy’s Fabrizio Capellini, before beating Jesus Villadoniga of Spain in the quarter-finals.

A 10-2 victory over Russian rival Igor Tarasov in the semi-finals ensured Abidogan would improve on last year’s result, having taken bronze.

Sadly the final against Roman Christen of Germany proved a step too far for Abidogan, but the 52-year-old still has a silver medal to cherish in addition to his team gold medal.