Singapore’s Maxine Wong scores first Asian Games individual fencing medal

NAGOYA – Singaporean fencer Maxine Wong earned her first women’s individual foil medal at the Asian Games, after qualifying for the semi-final on Sept 23.

A 15-6 win in the quarter-finals over Hong Kong’s Daphne Chan at the Aichi Sky Expo put the 25-year-old through to the semi-finals.

Wong will go up against home favourite Yuka Ueno later in the day for a spot in the top two. Both losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze medals.

Wong, who has a bronze medal from the team event at the 2018 Asiad, made it through the pools on Sept 23 with three wins in five bouts.

She then posted a 15-2 win over the Philippines’ Jana Allysah Catantan in the table of 32, before a 12-10 win over China’s reigning champion Huang Qianqian in the table of 16.

Wong’s achievement is Singapore’s second fencing medal in Aichi-Nagoya, and just the third individual medal won by a Singaporean fencer at the Games.

Just a day before, Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman won Singapore’s first-ever fencing silver medal an Asiad in the women’s epee. Lim Wei Wen won the Republic’s first Asiad medal in the sport in 2014 when he claimed the men’s epee bronze.

Compatriot and two-time Olympian Amita Berthier suffered an exit at the table of 16 on Sept 23. The foil fencer had finished second of six fencers in Pool 2 with four wins in five bouts.

She then received a bye into the table of 16, where she was defeated in a controversial 15-14 loss to Polina Volobueva of Uzbekistan. Berthier protested several times during the bout as the referee awarded points to her opponent.

Berthier, who broke into tears at the media mixed zone, said after her loss: “I’m just really, really upset right now because I felt good and I was motivated, and I knew that I had a decent chance to medal today. But it is what it is, and it wasn’t my day.”

On her frustrations with the referee, she explained: “I think when I was leading 12-8, she adapted… maybe I noticed that a bit too late. But I don’t think that’s the reason why I lost.”

“To be honest, I take accountability for my losses, and I’m just really upset because there was nothing much more I could have done in this bout, and it really just lied in the referee’s hand. I’m just really disappointed in him because I’ve seen him on the world stage, and he has actually been really good. Everybody makes mistakes, but to make a mistake that cost me at least going to the next round, I just lost quite a bit of respect.”

Wong’s medal kicks off the fourth day of action at the Asian Games.

The 304-strong Singapore contingent’s current tally includes mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tiffany Teo’s gold medal, swimmer Gan Ching Hwee’s two silver medals, fencer Kiria Tikanah’s silver and a bronze from wushu exponent Zeanne Law in the women’s taijiquan-taijijian.

At the previous edition of the Games in Hangzhou in 2023, the Republic won 16 medals; three golds, six silvers and seven bronzes.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.