SEA Games: Singapore fencers win historic gold

SINGAPORE – As Filipino fencer Nathaniel Perez landed the strike which put his country in the lead against Singapore in Sunday’s final of the SEA Games Men’s Foil Team event, a scream could be heard coming across from a corner of the OCBC Arena Hall 2.

The primal cry, which reverberated across the entire fencing venue, came from Singapore’s fencing foil coach Simon Senft.

But there was good reason for the 33-year-old’s sudden outburst – Singapore had dominated the opening stages of the final and established a comfortable four point lead after five bouts but Kevin Jerrold Chan’s erratic and nervous display in the sixth bout allowed the Philippines to fight back and take the lead.

As Chan, 16, trudged back to his starting position on the piste, Senft let loose from the sidelines with a furious tirade aimed at his young pupil.

It did the trick. Chan, who won the bronze medal in the Men’s Individual Foil on Thursday (June 4), pulled his act together and started fencing with a calmer poise to give Singapore a two-point lead by the end of the bout.

There was no looking back for Senft and his charges as Chan, along with Tan Yuan Zi and Joshua Lim, cheered on by the home crowd - with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in attendance - powered through the remaining three bouts to secure a 45-40 victory and clinch Singapore’s first ever men’s fencing gold medal at the Games.

“Coach (Senft) shouted at me during my bout against Nathaniel because I was making the same mistakes repeatedly,” said Chan. “But I really appreciate that my coach told me exactly what to change and it eventually paid off because I scored a lot of points thereafter.”

Added Tan: “Our coach told us to stay focused on the game plan and that there was no need to rush to take the lead. So this kept us calm and we managed to slowly build our advantage over our opponents.

“We knew that we stood a really good chance of winning the gold medal although we were prepared for a tough fight. Especially with the pressure of fencing on homeground, all of us were feeling a little nervous before the final.

“But we fought really hard and I’m glad that it all paid off with a gold medal. We’re a really strong team and I assure you that this will not be our last SEA Games gold medal because we’ll be fighting for the top prize in the next few editions of the Games.”

Singapore’s fencers won two more bronze medals yesterday in the Women’s Team Epee and Women’s Team Sabre event, ending this year’s SEA Games campaign with a record medal haul of three gold, three silver and seven bronze.