Fencing starlet Rajan makes a point in style

FENCER Rajan Rai, has been in fine form recently and added another major title to his ever-growing list of achievements last week. The youngster, who represents Newham Swords, made it three wins in a row when he won the under-13 age group of the Newham Le

FENCER Rajan Rai, has been in fine form recently and added another major title to his ever-growing list of achievements last week.

The youngster, who represents Newham Swords, made it three wins in a row when he won the under-13 age group of the Newham Leon Paul National Junior event, held at Newham Leisure Centre

The 13-year-old's victory follows his success at the Camden Leon Paul event held in October and the Cambridge Leon Paul tournament a month later.

After capturing all three titles, Rai has won the Leon Paul Junior series, making him the top under-13 fencer in the country.

His success follows in the footsteps of club-mates and GB internationals Amol Rattan, who won the title in 2007 and Alex Savin, who captured the crown a year later.

"Raj is a tremendous talent," said coach and former Olympic fencer, Pierre Harper.

"He trains extremely hard and deserves all the success he is getting."

Rai, who is part of Tessa Sanderson's Newham Sports Academy, is now ranked fifth in the England under-15 list, which qualifies him for the Paris under-15 international tournament that takes place in February.

"We are really pleased with the progress that Raj has made over the last six months," said club manager and former Olympic fencer, Linda Strachan.