Brou Inkosi finished seventh in the men’s sabre event to emerge as Nigeria’s best performer at the 24th African Senior Fencing Championships, which concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, www.aclsports.com reports.
Inkosi competed alongside Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye and Phoenix Olen in a field that included 2024 Olympic silver medallist Fares Ferjani of Tunisia and defending champion Ahmed Hesham of Egypt.
After progressing from the group stage, Inkosi earned a bye into the round of 16, where he edged Algeria’s Lotfi Ibrihen 15-14 to reach the quarter-finals.
The Nigerian faced Hesham in the last eight but lost 15-9 as the Egyptian went on to defend his title. Despite entering the competition as the eighth seed, Inkosi finished seventh overall.
Akinyosoye also advanced from the group stage and defeated Côte d’Ivoire’s Emmanuel Kouadio 15-11 in the round of 32 before losing 15-7 to Ferjani in the round of 16. He placed 13th among the 27 sabre fencers.
In the men’s épée, Diekolola Johnson and Leonard Chizim Aninyei progressed from the group stage but exited in the round of 32. Their advancement marked an improvement on their performances at the 2025 African Championships in Lagos.
Nigeria’s representative in the women’s épée, Adebodunrin Thomas, also advanced from the group stage before losing 15-12 to Egypt’s Loulwa Soliman in the round of 32. Kenya’s Alexandra Ndolo retained the title.
National coach Ibrahim Alogba praised the team’s performance, describing the championships as valuable preparation for the 2026 Commonwealth Championships in Lagos.
“I must commend the fencers for their display because they all gave their best against the best. This is good for their confidence going into the Commonwealth Championships, and we hope some of them can still compete globally before the tournament in Lagos from August 9 to 14,” Alogba said.
Lagos will host the 2026 Commonwealth Championships from 9 to 14 August.
