AN ALLOA teenager has earned himself a bronze medal for his performances at the Cadet and Junior Commonwealth Fencing Championships.

Calum Kettles, 16, travelled to Christchurch, New Zealand, to represent his country in the tournament following a challenging but hugely rewarding selection year.

He was picked to take part in the cadet (under 17) category and also the junior (under 20) sections after impressing throughout competitions both in Britain and Europe.

Calum participated in the Scottish Cadet Team, who beat India 45-43 before falling to a strong Malaysian side 45-30.

The youngster scored 18 of his team’s points, earning himself and teammates Guy Lumsden, Miller Hetherington and Brodie Macdonald a Commonwealth bronze medal.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Calum was proud of his achievements and looked ahead to his upcoming competitions.

“I felt very proud to win,” he said. “It was very rewarding to see all my efforts pay off at the Commonwealths.

“The atmosphere was really good and being able to fence and bring back a medal for Scotland was incredible.

“It was great to be able to go across and see a different environment and take in different places and food.”

Calum also fared well in his individual sections of the competition, finishing 17th in the Individual Cadet Sabre.

During the junior events, he won four out of his six matches in the opening round, defeating a New Zealand competitor before losing to one of the top Australian fencers.

Overall, he finished 11th in the rankings before coming 7th in the junior team event.

His mother, Mandy Kettles, was beaming with pride as she watched him pick up the bronze medal with his teammates.

“Fencing is his life definitely,” she added. “I’m just so pleased to see all his hard work pay off for him.”

Calum, an S6 pupil at Alva Academy, trains four to five days a week at Salle Ossian in Perth under his coach, Professor Phil Carson.

He now looks ahead to an intense schedule of training in the U20 Junior category, where he hopes to secure a spot on the Team GB group for his new age ranking.

He said: “I’ve moved up to another age group now so I’m trying to get back into the Team GB group for my new age category.

“If I get that, my goal is to get to the European Circuit with my new age group.”