Newham Swords Kamal Minott recorded Great Britain’s best result at the Junior World Championships, finishing in 13th place.
Minott, ranked number one for GB at under-20 level and a Junior Commonwealth Games gold medallist, won four of his five bouts in the preliminary round, losing only to Italy’s Guillame Bianchi.
And after beating Venezuela’s Romero Montella (15-8), he knocked out higher seed Gabor Bellovicz, of Hungary, by a 15-14 margin to reach the last 32.
Minott then upset American number three seed Sidarth Kumla to set up a rematch with European Junior champion and world number one Bianch and put up a brave fight in a 15-8 loss against the eventual bronze medalist.
Swords head coach Pierre Harper, said: “Kamal gave it his all and set another personal best. What a great result to end his junior fencing career on.”
Club manager Linda Strachan added: “We now look forward to working with Kamal on the senior scene and helping him achieve his dream of competing in an Olympic Games.”