The Nigeria Fencing Federation (NFF) has set a target of four medals at next month’s Junior/Cadet African Fencing Championship.

The competition is scheduled to take place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos from March 1 to 5.

This was disclosed by the NFF President, Adeyinka Samuel, at a recent press briefing as he added that Team Nigeria will be fielding a twelve-man team for the championship that would feature at least twenty countries.

Five of the Nigerian contingent are expected to arrive in batches on Friday.

Samuel, who also doubles as the Secretary General of the African Fencing Federation, expressed happiness about the emergence of Nigeria as hosts ahead of top fencing country like Algeria and Tunisia.

Speaking about the medal target via ThisDay, Adeyinka Samuel said: “We are targeting four medals and from the perspective that we are an up and coming country in fencing, it will be remarkable if we meet the target.”

Adeyinka Samuel is a former player and he was once ranked as one of the top 100 fencers in the world.

The African Fencing Championship will serve as an avenue for junior fencers to earn point for the 2018 World Championships in Verona, Italy in addition to being used as qualification criteria for the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan.