‘People are starting to talk about us’: Fencing S’pore chief delighted by fencers’ historic Asiad outing

NAGOYA – In the last decade, Singapore has firmly established itself as a fencing powerhouse in the region with supremacy at the SEA Games.

But it had struggled to make a dent at the continental level, with only two Asian Games fencing medals to show for – Lim Wei Wen’s men’s individual epee bronze in 2014 and a women’s team foil bronze won by Tatiana Wong, Melanie Huang, Amita Berthier and Maxine Wong four years later.

But after six days of action at the Aichi Sky Expo in Nagoya, Team Singapore’s fencers delivered their best Asiad campaign yet, winning three medals – one silver and two bronzes.

Fencing Singapore president David Chen assessed that his fencers’ historic performance has helped announce Singapore on the Asian stage, stating that “people are starting to talk about us now”.

Chen told The Straits Times after the final day of action on Sept 27, when the men’s epee team and women’s sabre team exited in the quarter-finals, that they had come in “with the expectation to make history”.

Chen, who assumed office in 2024, credited his predecessors, adding that his team had built on foundations established by previous teams, clubs, and coaches.

He said “Internally before we came here, we set really high bars. We were aiming for three medals across the different weapon groups, and I think the fencers themselves, the coaches, really delivered.

“So we’re really really glad, really thankful for the entire ecosystem, the clubs, the coaches, all coming together to support the fencers as one team.”

“From what we have seen at the recent Asian Fencing Championships (AFC), where we’ve been doing fairly well, been medalling, and we knew that (this) is the right moment for us to climb new heights. So we came in with the expectation to make history,” he added.

On Sept 22, Kiria Tikanah won an unprecedented Asiad silver medal for Singapore in the women’s epee. A day later, Wong became Singapore’s first individual foil medallist at the continental meet by winning a bronze.

On Sept 25, Elle Koh, Esther Tan, Filzah Hidayah and Kiria completed the historic medal haul with a bronze, winning Singapore’s first Games team medal in epee.

Having exited at the quarter-finals in the previous three editions, the team achieved a breakthrough with a dramatic 42-41 comeback victory over Uzbekistan, overturning an 11-point deficit to reach the semi-finals.

The epee team’s standout performance has prompted national epee coach Henry Koh to set his sights on a milestone of qualifying a Singapore team for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

He said: “We’re proving a point here (that) we can take it to the best teams in the region, and I hope within the next two years, our hard work and good fortune will continue so that we can actually qualify as a team for the Olympics.”

While celebrating this historic performance, Chen – who previously set a target of a 12-gold clean sweep at the 2029 SEA Games on home soil – also noted there is still room for improvement.

Rating the campaign an eight out of 10, he highlighted the need to enhance athlete support, extend athletes’ professional pathways and helping them build better mental fortitude.

Berthier, who endured a tough Asiad campaign and spoke up about her struggles after her competition ended, also received Chen’s support.

“We still have a lot of faith in Amita because she showed Singapore fencing the way, getting to the Olympics,” said Chen.

“And Amita has a lot to offer. We are looking at her to be in a leadership role beyond just being a leader on the piste, but also leading the younger athletes, showing them the way. She openly talked about her struggle. That’s great as well because by being vulnerable, by talking about it, by letting more people know about it, then there’s a chance to move on from that, and our hearts are with her.”

Another gap he hopes to address is to ensure that the next Asiad will feature athletes in all weapons across both genders. Singapore did not have a representative in both the sabre men’s team and individual.

Chen, who noted the youth of their contingent, which had several Asiad debutants, said: “It was really a disappointment that we didn’t manage to send a (men’s sabre) team this time round.

“And after I saw the individual event and team’s event, I have to say we really need to do a lot more work for men’s sabre because the countries, even the South-east Asian countries, are up and coming and really, really strong.

“So we have a little bit more time to think about how we can improve as a whole, look into our pipeline, not just the fencers but also look into the coaching pipeline as well.”