Iranian fencer Taher Ashouri has refused to take on his Israeli opponent at the 2015 World Fencing Championship currently under way in the Russian capital city of Moscow.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old Iranian sportsman prevailed over Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Alexanin and Latvian competitor Tomas Makarovas in his first two contests of men’s senior épée section at Moscow’s famous Olympic Stadium sports complex.

Ashouri, however, conceded defeats against Finnish, South Korean and Swedish representatives, Kasper Roslander, Na Jongkwan and Christian Gustavsson, in the three following matches.

The Iranian fencer then refused to fence in an encounter with the Israeli opponent, Ariel Drizin, in the next round, and was subsequently given a ban by the sports governing body and excluded from the rest of the contest.

The épée is the modern derivative of the dueling sword used in fencing.

The 2015 World Fencing Championship started in Moscow on July 13 and will run until July 19. Some 912 fencers from 108 countries are competing in the event to win a title of champion and, equally as prestigious and important, to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.