EN GARDE!

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Kingdom of Bahrain hosted the Asian Cadet and Junior Fencing Championships earlier this month and many of the continent’s rising young stars showcased their limitless potential.

Fencers as young as 13 and as old as 21 took to the piste in their various competition categories, featuring three different weapons including epee, foil, and sabre.

Hong Kong, China had topped the medal table at the end of the cadets events with three gold medals and four bronze for a total haul of seven, while Japan were number one amongst the juniors, winning four gold and three bronze medals, also finishing with seven in all.

The competition was a memorable experience for the aspiring youngsters, especially for the debutants competing for the first time at this very high continental level.

Thirteen-year-old En Yu Chang from Chinese Taipei was one of the tournament’s rookies. She had always wanted to represent her country, and she realised her dream in Bahrain.

“Being able to wear Chinese Taipei on my uniform is always a proud moment,” En Yu tells TDT, adding that she started to fence when she was in the third grade and living in the US with her family.

“From a young age, I’ve always liked the idea of fighting, holding a sword, and winning. It made me feel strong, like I have power. “Fencing is a really special sport. It can really bring everyone together, and it’s really fun and really exciting.”

After experiencing an Asian championship for the first time, En Yu is determined to continue improving and continue representing Chinese Taipei on the biggest stage—possibly even in the Olympics one day.

“I am only 13, this is my first year of cadet, so I have a lot of progress to make,” she says. “The idea of me being able to i mprove a lot and go to future championships, either Asian or world, keeps me on my track; it makes me proud and happy to keep fencing, and my goal is to go to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.”

Success

One of the more successful fencers of the Asian championship in the Kingdom was 16-year-old Summer Jane Sit of Hong Kong, China.

Summer competed in both the cadet and junior categories and won a medal in both, including gold in the cadet team women’s saber alongside Hoi Yan Chong, Ngai Lam Ng, and Yuet Ching Tsang; and then a silver for the junior team women’s saber where she joined her sister Summer Fay Sit, Ngai, and Nga Chi Cheng.

“Fencing is all about teamwork and working together,” Summer tells TDT.

“That is our main goal and our main focus for this year—to work as team.”

Summer notes that the highly competitive fencing scene in her country had helped them prepare for their bouts in Bahrain. “There are a lot of national competitions and it’s a lot of hard work,” she explains.

“We train about five times a week, and every athlete really has a lot of pressure, so I’m really happy to be able to participate in this competition.”

Another medal list was 16-year-old Faris Alblooshi of the UAE, who was the only fencer from the participating Arab contingent to step onto the podium in either category, winning an individual gold in the cadet men’s foil. “It feels so good; I know how hard I worked for this,” expresses Faris.

“The competition was very strong, and I couldn’t have done it without the many people who support me.

I’d like to thank Sheikh Engineer Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, and the General Authority of Sports in the UAE. It’s an honour for me to be able to represent my country at the highest level and to stand on top of the podium.”

Two other cadet fencers who were hoping to make waves in the Kingdom were Rika Sasakawa of Japan and Perada Limsakul of Thailand.

Fourteen-year-old Rika says fencing is currently her number one passion. “I have a wonderful coach, who is really empowering and emotionally supportive, so it makes me very motivated,” she explains. Perada, 16, is always proud when representing Thailand, and aspires to one day be a fencing coach.

“Every time I wear the Thailand flag on my uniform, I feel so proud and I tell myself that I have to do the best for my country,” she says.

“I want to be a fencing coach in the future and take Thailand to the world cup.”

Juniors

The junior fencers in the Kingdom featured some top talents from across the continent.

They included Meagan Elizabeth Yao Co Say, currently the number one junior in the Philippines and also a member of the senior national team at just 17 years old.

Bahrain marked her third participation in the Asian Cadet and Junior Fencing Championship, with this being her first year competing amongst the juniors.

She says she had learned a lot from her past participations.

“My first cadet championship was very bad, I was first-rounded,” she recalls with a laugh. “In the second, I was top 25 out of 42.

“The most important thing is to keep competing with yourself and pushing yourself to be better than you were the previous year, and not to get too discouraged by bad results and losses.”

Meagan highlights that she enjoys the mental aspect of fencing the most—something that initially attracted her to the sport at the age of 12.

“My coach told me fencing was 70 per cent mind and 30 per cent body, so it was exciting for me to join a very mental sport,” says Meagan, who won two gold medals in the 2023 South East Asian Fencing Federation Championships in Malaysia, individually and as part of the Philippine team in the cadet women’s sabre class.

“The thing that keeps me going is how fun it is trying to figure out each opponent, and how fun it is playing the game,” she adds.

“I hope to win more medals for the Philippines and get more great results.”

For 18-year-old Zuhriddin Kodirov, his Asian championship in the Kingdom saw him come away with a fantastic double of Uzbekistan, capturing gold in the junior team men’s saber alongside Islambek Abdazov, Sardor Abdukarimbekov and Musa Aymuratov; and clinching bronze in the individual saber event.

“The competition in the juniors is very difficult and very interesting,” says Zuhriddin. “I am very happy for our success, both for the cadets and juniors.

We train very hard, and congrats to our team.” Zuhriddin is hoping to take his talents even further in the sport and has his eyes on the ultimate prize.

“I want to fence in the seniors and win at the Olympic Games like other great sportsmen,” he says.