FENCING: Brisbane teenager Alicia Kwag is well placed to become the youngest fencer to represent Australia at the Olympic Games after progressing to the elimination rounds of the women's foil at the world championships in Moscow.

Fifteen-year-old Kwag made a bright start to her senior international career in Russia where the year 11 student smoothly progressed through the qualifying rounds before she was eliminated by Austria's Olivia Wohlgemuth.

Kwag has been fencing since she was six after being introduced to the sport by her parents in a bid to overcome her shyness.

In the men's foil, Melbourne's Lucas Webber was outpointed by experienced Romanian Radu Daraban in the round of 64.

Webber, 20, competing at the championships for the first time, fell 15-12 after recovering from a bad start.

The Australian's lack of experience showed early when he tried to rush things, making too many similar attacks which 32-year-old Daraban was able to predict.

After trailing 8-2 early, Webber calmed his nerves and produced some good fencing, but in the end, the gap was too big to close.

The championships are an important step in the qualifying process for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where Australia hope to field its largest team since Sydney 2000 when they had seven athletes.

AAP