20-year-old Akinyosoye, who recently switched allegiance to Nigeria after representing England at cadet and junior levels, lit up the African Fencing Championships with a dramatic 5–4 win over Tunisia’s Fares Ferjani, the Paris 2024 silver medalist, in a nail-biting opening bout. The upset sent shockwaves through the arena and sparked celebrations from Nigerian fans.

The win not only marked a major personal breakthrough for Akinyosoye but also secured his place in the knockout stage.

Riding high on momentum, he breezed past Algeria’s Lotfi Ibrihen with a dominant 15–9 victory in the round of 16. However, his impressive run came to a halt in the quarterfinals, where he was beaten 15–8 by Tunisia’s Ahmed Ferjani, the tournament’s sixth seed. Despite the defeat, Akinyosoye’s fearless display earned widespread praise and underscored his potential as one of Africa’s rising stars in fencing.

For another Nigerian, hopeful Brou, a bronze medalist at the African Junior Championships and grandson of the late NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Dora Akunyili, the journey also ended in the quarterfinals. He lost 15–11 to Niger Republic’s fifth seed, Evann Girault.

In a tournament full of surprises, defending champion Fares Ferjani also bowed out early, suffering a 15–13 defeat to Egypt’s Adham Moataz in the round of 16, a result that further blew the men’s sabre field wide open. Ultimately, Egypt’s Ahmed Hesham clinched the gold in the men’s individual sabre event.

On the women’s side, Nigeria’s Sarah Idongesit and Adebodunrin, two of the youngest athletes in the draw, made it out of the group stage in the women’s individual epee event. Though both were knocked out in the round of 32 by more seasoned fencers from Morocco and Algeria, their progression was a bright spot, signalling Nigeria’s growing depth in the sport. Germany’s Alexandra Ndolo took home the gold in that event.

The African Fencing Championships continue today with action in the men’s individual foil and women’s sabre events.