Kruse captures silver at Seoul World Cup

BEIJING Olympian Richard Kruse has continued his excellent form this season - scooping World Cup silver in Seoul, South Korea.

ON THE PODIUM: Richard Kruse continues his excellent form of late, scooping silver at the foil World Cup in Seoul

Kruse, Great Britain's number one foil fencer, who defended his World Cup title in Copenhagen in January, finished second in Seoul - eventually going down to defending champion Young-Ho Kwon of South Korea 15-10.

On the way to the final, Kruse defeated Nontapat Panchan of Thailand as well as Byung-Chul Choi - ninth in Beijing, before seeing off Hee-Kyung Park in the semis.

And while the 2009 European silver medallist, admitted a hint of disappointment at falling at the final hurdle, Kruse admits he will continue his tour of the Far East full of confidence, as he heads to Tokyo next week.

"I am a bit disappointed not to have converted in the final," said Kruse, ranked 14th in the world. "However, I think I am starting to hit some decent form now - which bodes well for Tokyo next week."

While Kruse collected silver in Seoul there were also impressive performances from fellow Brits Laurence Halsted and Ed Jeffries, who both made the final.

Both crashed out by the narrowest of margins with Halsted going down 15-14 to Tae-Kyu Ha.

Halsted said: "I was disappointed to miss out on the podium by a single hit, but this result is in line with my goal of a consistent improvement in major international competitions."

And Jeffries, making his senior World Cup debut, crashed 15-13 to gold medallist Kwon.

"This was my first senior World Cup final and I hope this is just a beginning of more world class results," said Jeffries.

British Fencing performance director Graham Watts added: "I am pleased with the continued progress we are seeing on the international stage. This bodes well for 2012 and beyond. The investment made through the World Class program is starting to really pay off."