Brou Inkosi Shines at African Fencing Championships

Nigeria’s fencing star Brou Inkosi stood out as the best performer for Nigeria at the 24th African Fencing Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast over the weekend. He finished seventh in the men’s sabre event.

Inkosi fought alongside fellow Nigerians Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye and Phoenix Olen. They faced tough competition, including 2024 Olympic silver medalist Fares Ferjani from Tunisia and defending champion Ahmed Hesham from Egypt. Hesham went on to win again, adding Abidjan to his Lagos 2025 title.

In his first round, Inkosi started in Pool 1 with Hesham. He lost narrowly to Hesham (1-5) and Libya’s Mohamed Abujnah (4-5). But he bounced back, winning against opponents from Cape Verde, Algeria, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. His strong showing in the group stage earned him a bye into the round of 16, where he narrowly defeated Algeria’s Lotfi Ibrihen 15-14 in a tense match.

In the quarter-finals, Inkosi faced Hesham again. The 18-year-old showed courage and smart tactics, making it tough for the Egyptian at times. But Hesham’s experience helped him win 15-9 and keep his title. Despite being seeded eighth, Inkosi finished seventh overall, ahead of many experienced fencers.

Akinyosoye also made it past the group stage, winning two matches and losing three. He started his knockout run in the round of 32, beating Côte d’Ivoire’s Emmanuel Kouadio 15-11 before losing to Ferjani 15-7 in the round of 16. He ended up in 13th place out of 27 sabre fencers.

In the men’s epee, Diekolola Johnson and Leonard Chizim Aninyei got through the group stage but lost in the round of 32 to opponents from Cape Verde and South Africa. This was an improvement from Lagos 2025, where they did not move past the group stage.

In the women’s epee, Adebodunrin Thomas advanced from the group stage but lost 15-12 to Egypt’s Loulwa Soliman in the round of 32. Kenya’s Alexandra Ndolo won the event again.

National coach Ibrahim Alogba praised the team’s efforts and said it was great preparation for the upcoming 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.