Local athlete lost to eventual winner Laurent Bel in semi-finals, but still claimed a medal

Islington’s Kola Abidogun won a bronze medal at the veterans’ World Fencing Championships in Maribor, Slovenia recently.

Abidogun was the number one seed after winning all six of his bouts in the seeding round of the men’s foil 50-59 age group.

He therefore received a bye into the last 32 of the direct elimination stage where he beat Brazilian opponent Lazzarini comprehensively.

A 10-5 success occurred next over Wang, of China, before a German rival in the shape of Peters stood in his way and a place in the semi-finals.

Abidogun defeated his European opponent by a scoreline of 10-7, however, to qualify for the last four of the competition.

The Islington athlete was unable to get past eventual winner Laurent Bel – going down 10-7 and missing out on a gold or silver medal as a result.

But Abidogun still managed to claime a bronze medal for his efforts, which proved an impressive return in a field of 63 fencers.