Set to make a point

SINGAPORE — At the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, Fencing Singapore (FS) predicted their fencers would win five gold medals. But the team returned with only one silver and two bronze medals.

Four years on, as fencing returns to the biennial meet after the event was dropped from the 2013 Myanmar Games, FS is keeping mum on its gold-medal ambitions. Instead, president Juliana Seow pointed only to results posted over the past eight months to indicate the team’s potential.

Last September, Lim Wei Wen became the first Singaporean to win a fencing medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, picking up the bronze in the men’s individual epee.

Two months later in Largs, Scotland, Singapore not only struck gold for the first time in the 40-year history of the Commonwealth Fencing Championships, but also topped the medal tally with four golds — through Wang Wenying (women’s foil), the men’s epee, the foil, and epee team events — as well as four silver and two bronze medals.

Despite the results at Incheon and Largs, Seow does not want the team to be pressured by medal expectations at this year’s SEA Games when the competition starts at the Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena on June 3.

“We want them to enjoy this journey, focus on fencing and pursue their passion,” said Seow. “At the core of every competition is passion, and we don’t want them to just think about winning. It is about passion and this, in turn, leads to winning, and it is important that they enjoy the sport.”

Vietnam are the regional kingpins of the sport, topping the medal standings with five golds at the 2011 Games. At the South-east Asian Fencing Championship in January last year, they almost made a clean sweep, winning nine of the 12 gold medals on offer, leaving Thailand with two and Singapore, one. The Republic’s solitary gold came courtesy of the women’s foil team of Wang, Cheryl Wong, Liane Wong and Arrya Berthier, who beat Vietnam 33-26.

But if the final rankings at the Asian Championships in South Korea six months later are any measure, Singapore fencers have made huge strides and have an edge over the competition in five events.

In the women’s sabre individual, 15-year-old Lau Ywen finished sixth, 14 rungs higher than Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Le Dung. The men’s and women’s foil and epee teams also ended the competition as the leading South-east Asian nation, with Thailand and Vietnam their closest regional rivals.

The national side have since undergone high-intensity training and participated in competitions overseas, and national foil coach Simon Seft is optimistic that they can pull off a surprise at the upcoming SEA Games 2015.

“We’ve had training camps in Europe and a competition in Shanghai, and they were very good,” said the German. “The team is coping well with the pressure of competing in Singapore and are confident of beating their opponents at the SEA Games.”

National sabre coach Andras Desci told TODAY that having a sports psychologist from the Singapore Sports Institute attached to the team has also helped make a difference.

“He observed the team closely and gave practical advice that helped our fencers tremendously,” said the Hungarian.

“It is the best way to handle this stressful period before the competition and during the events,” he added. “I believe the team is on the right track and they are now mentally strong.”

SEA GAMES FENCING COMPETITION SCHEDULE:

June 3 to 7, OCBC Arena Hall 2, Sports Hub