Fencer takes a stab at 2016 Olympic dream

SINGAPORE — It is less than a year until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and Team Singapore’s athletes are hard at work training and competing in a bid for medal glory at sport’s biggest and most prestigious event.

The Republic’s swimmers, sailors and paddlers are expected to fly the country’s flag in Rio, with others from shooting, badminton and athletics also ramping up their qualifying campaigns ahead of the Aug 5-21 Games.

And a Singaporean fencer could be in the mix among Singapore’s Olympic contingent, in what will be a first for the sport in 23 years.

National fencer Wang Wenying is gunning for one of 32 Olympics spots in the women’s foil individual in Rio, and the 34-year-old will be the first local fencer to qualify for the Games if she is successful in her bid. She will also be the first fencer to compete in the Olympics since 1992, where James Wong and Ronald Tan — who did not have to qualify then — turned out in Singapore colours.

But unbeknownst to many, Wang’s Olympic dream had almost stalled last October, when she contemplated quitting the sport after missing out on selection for the individual foil at the Incheon Asian Games. She competed in the women’s team event, and the Singaporeans finished fifth out of seven teams.

Despite the “disappointment”, her passion for the sport kept the veteran athlete going. “I really couldn’t run away from something I love so much,” she said.

“I started fencing when I was 16, and it has been a career full of ups and downs. Qualifying for the Olympics would be a dream come true for me. I want to prove my ability, and show that I am really a strong fencer, and one of Singapore’s best.”

Wang has been in good form since winning Singapore’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Scotland, before following that up with yet another historic individual gold at the South-east Asian Games in June.

Wang credited her one-year full-time training stint, aided by the government’s Final Push programme, for her recent achievements on the piste.

Last July, she made the switch from her husband and coach Wu Jie to national foil coach Simon Senft.

“Simon has his own style and techniques and I am learning a lot,” she said. “He really pushes me, and I need someone like that because you can tend to slack off if your coach is your family member.”

Wang will compete in nine overseas competitions in a bid to earn world rankings points, beginning with the Tournoi Satellite competition in Mexico next month. The top 14 ranked fencers in the world will gain automatic qualification to the Olympics, and if Wang, currently ranked at world No 67, does not make the cut, she will need to finish among the next two highest-ranked Asian fencers to qualify.

Wang’s best chance at qualifying for Rio will be at next year’s Asian Zone qualifications, where she will need to finish among the top three.

Former Olympian Senft believes Wang has an “80 per cent” chance of qualifying, but warned that the 34-year-old needs to keep her emotions in check in order to be successful on the piste.

“Her best chance lies there (Asian Zone qualifiers), where she will mostly face South-east Asian and Middle-Eastern opponents, who I am confident she can handle,” said the German. “However, she can also be very emotional, and needs to focus more on getting the next point, rather than being too affected by refereeing decisions.”

Aside from Wang, a number of national fencers will also be gunning for a slice of Olympic history.

While their names have not been confirmed, Fencing Singapore president Juliana Seow said yesterday: “At this early stage, the Olympic qualification is still open to other hopefuls, and the final selection will be determined in early 2016.”