IOC President Thomas Bach has presented Japanese fencer Yuki Ota with an Olympic pin ©IOC/Greg Martin

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has presented Japanese fencer Yuki Ota with an Olympic pin in recognition of his silver medal-winning performance at Beijing 2008.

Ota met Bach, a former fencer himself and a member of Germany’s Olympic gold medal-winning men's foil team at Montreal 1976, at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne for a special presentation.

The 34-year-old was the runner-up in the men's individual foil event at the Olympics in China’s capital 12 years ago.

At London 2012, he helped Japan to claim the men’s team foil silver medal.

Yuki Ota was crowned world champion in 2015 and is a two-times Olympic silver medallist ©Getty Images
Yuki Ota was crowned world champion in 2015 and is a two-times Olympic silver medallist ©Getty Images

Other notable achievements include individual success at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and the 2015 World Championships in Moscow, where he became the first Japanese fencer to secure a global crown.

He is President of the Japanese Fencing Federation and a vice-president of the International Fencing Federation.

Last month, Ota was confirmed among the 30 candidates for election to the IOC Athletes' Commission.

He will become the third Japanese IOC representative if he is successful with his bid for one of the four available places on the Athletes' Commission, which offers the added incentive of full IOC membership.