British fencer Richard Kruse lands silver at World Cup

Kruse is ranked among the top 16 fencers in the world

London-based British fencer Richard Kruse boosted his London 2012 Games preparations with a silver medal at the men's foil World Cup in Seoul.

The 27-year-old came through five matches, including a 15-11 defeat of compatriot Laurence Halstead in the last eight, to reach the final.

But he lost out to Italian Andrew Baldini by a single point 15-14 to settle for silver.

Performance manager Alex Newton said: "This is a real boost for the team."

And head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski added: "This is the first good result for our men's foil team after a relatively poor beginning to the season. This will boost the confidence of the whole team."

Apart from Kruse and Halstead, however, only Jamie Kenber and James Davis made it to the final day of the two-day event in Seoul.

Kenber, 24, went out in the round of 64, losing 15-10 to Edoradro Luperi of Italy, while 19-year-old Davis fell at the same stage, losing 15-9 to China's Zhang Li.

The team event starts on Sunday, with Team Great Britain set to face the USA in what promises to be a fascinating match.