A fencer from Plymouth College recently travelled to Crete, Greece, to compete in the last Junior World Cup Competition of the year.
Ben Andrews travelled with the GB U20 Men’s team and competed against many of the world’s best fencers in the individual and Team events at Heraklion Greece.
In the Individual competition, Ben had 4 victories over Poland, Greece, Denmark and Russia, earning a seeding of 59th going into the direct elimination rounds. He made the cut and received a bye into the table of 128. A win over Finland then saw Ben take a remarkable victory beating the Italian No. 6 seed Gaetani. A further win over Polish Fencer, Michalak, saw the Plymouth pupil enter the top 16 where he went out to Russian Shvelidze.
Finishing 12th overall and the highest of all British Team gave Ben a significant world ranking boost, undoubtedly securing GB Selection for the European and World Championships this spring.
The following day he was one of 4 GB fencers selected for the Team Event. Making a significant 9 point come back in their first fight, Ben was instrumental in securing the team’s victory over the Ukraine. Further fights against Hungary, Australia, Switzerland and Brazil saw the Team take 14th place overall.
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