Turning disappointment into gold
SINGAPORE — National fencer Wang Wenying bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on selection for the women’s individual foil at the recent Asian Games by winning Singapore’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships.
Yesterday at the sportscotland National Centre Inverclyde in Largs, Scotland, 34-year-old Wang bagged what she described as the biggest win of her career by trouncing the host nation’s Chloe Dickson 15-3 for the women’s individual foil gold medal.
In fact, Singapore had been assured of a finalist after Wang and team-mate Cheryl Wong set up a semi-final meeting, which Wang took 13-7. Wong’s joint-bronze with England’s Cathy Cook also marked a rare occasion when two of the Republic’s fencers made the podium in senior competition.
In the lopsided final, an assured Wang imposed herself early against Dickson, who seemed to flounder under the weight of home fans’ expectations. As Wang picked up point after point — storming to a 14-0 lead — Dickson became increasingly flustered, though she composed herself enough to win three consolation points.
Said Wang: “It was her home ground and credit to her, she fought well.
“But I’d figured out how she fences after watching her semi-final match and my game plan for how to deal with her worked right from the outset.
“She is very good in defence, but not as strong in attack. So, I just tried to control my distance from her and not rush in on her too quickly, but only attack when I see a chance.”
Things were not so encouraging for Wang two months ago, when she contemplated giving up fencing after missing out on the two slots for the individual foil at the Asian Games, which went to Wong and her sister Liane.
“At one point, I was thinking I should stop and do something else, and that was after this year’s Asian Games selection,” said Wang.
“I thought this is it and maybe I should just focus on being a full-time coach, I don’t know. It was disappointing.”
But she went to Incheon nonetheless and fenced in the women’s team foil event and her passion for the sport saw her soldiering on, driven by the desire to win gold on home ground when the South-east Asian Games is held here next June.
“I also decided to turn the disappointment into motivation to prove myself as one of Singapore’s best foilists,” said Wang, who with husband Wu Jie set up the Absolute Fencing school here.
“I also reminded myself I made the top 64 (55th place) at the individual women’s foil at July’s World Fencing Championships in Russia, and that I am under ‘The Final Push’ programme by Sport Singapore.”
While she was not selected in the first batch of athletes awarded the Sports Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship), being in “The Final Push” means Wang gets extra support to train full-time towards the 2015 SEA Games.
Having won the team gold medal at the 2009 SEA Games and the team silver in the 2011 edition, Wang wants now to have a shot at winning both the individual and team events next year here.
Said Wang: “This win at the Commonwealth Championships has convinced me that I can compete for many more years.”
