A NEW Eltham fencer enjoyed medal success at the junior Commonwealth Games in Jersey last week.

Bullers Wood School pupil Niall Dowse, 17, who is qualified to represent Northern Ireland because his dad is from the province, won all of his pool matches to be ranked fourth before entering the direct elimination stages.

Dowse had a bye to reach the last 32 and then won three close matches against Michael Hering (Scotland) 15-12, John Simmons (England) 15-14 match and Zak Leonhard (Australian) 15-14 to set up a semi-final encounter with England’s Curtis Miller.

Miller was to prove a formidable rival and Dowse, who is a member of MX Fencing Club in East Malling, eventually went down 15-5.

However, he was understandably still delighted with the achievement of reaching the podium, saying: “I am really happy and very proud.”

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