In the Men’s Foil Individual event, 2 of our Absolute Fencers have made history by becoming the first Singaporean fencers to fight their way into the round of top 16. After defeating an Iranian fencer in the round of 32, Wu Jie put up an impressive performance of tenacity before losing to Olympic silver medallist Ota Yuki from Japan with a score of 15-8.

Zhang Zhenggang stormed past his opponent in round of 32 with a convincing score of 15-2, before losing to 2 times world champion Lei Shen from China with a score of 15-4. Also, special mention goes to Joshua Ian Lim, who managed to get into the Top 32 despite being only 16 years old.

In the team event, our Men’s Foil team again reached a new high by finishing in the 6^th overall position. We are especially proud to announce that the team consists entirely of fencers from Absolute Fencing, namely Wu Jie, Tan Yuanzi, Zhang Zhenggang and Joshua Ian Lim.

In the Women’s Foil Individual Event, Wang Wenying also made a strong finish in the final 16. She overcame a fellow Singaporean teammate in the round of 32 and eventually lost to Chen Jingyan from China.

Other Absolute Fencing members who took part in Asian Fencing Championships 2012 include Women’s epee fencers Victoria Lim Xiu Yan, Goh Wan Qi, and Men’s Sabre fencer Choy Yu Yong.

Well done to all our fencers and we look forward to more fantastic results in future competitions!

April is the time of the year where schools in Singapore congregate at the National Inter-School Fencing Championships for an ultimate showdown. Every year, we witness fencers fighting their hearts out to bring honor to their school, coaches and themselves. Hwa Chong Fencing Team, both High School and College, who had trained hard over the year under Absolute Fencing had their goals aligned: to bag home the respective division champion titles.

In C Division, the boys maintained their winning streak from last year and again emerged victorious as the overall division Champion. Even with the pressure as the defending champion on their shoulders, the fencers swept away a total of six out of the twelve medals offered across the three weapon groups, which was a noteworthy improvement from last year’s results.

In the Boys’ Épée event, Nigel Sim bagged the Gold medal after a modest win over teammate Justin Lim who claimed the Silver Medal. Kevin Chan took home the well-deserved Gold medal after a 15-14 triumph over opponent Jet Ng from Victoria School in the Boys’ Foil finals. Chen Xing Jian came in third in the same event, clinching the Bronze medal. He also obtained another Silver Medal in the Boys’ Sabre event while fellow teammate Lam Jing Siang secured a Bronze Medal.

The B division Champion title was closely contested between Hwa Chong Institution and Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School. Just like last year, Joshua Ian Lim dominated in the Boys’ Foil event, proving that the Gold Medal was none but his to claim. Joshua also challenged in the Boys’ Épée event, rounding off in a joint bronze placing.

Choy Yu Yong did not disappoint in the Boys’ Sabre by securing the Gold Medal for Hwa Chong. Despite the fencers’ fierce battle, the boys were eight points short from the overall B Division Champion title and they could only content with a second placing.

Fencers from Hwa Chong Institution truly reaped the fruits of their labor in the A Division category. The boys clinched the title of A Division Champion, which was a remarkable improvement from their 4^th placing in the competition last year.

Medals contributing to this success came from Ip Yuan Chang with Boys’ Épée Gold, Ong Chan Hao with Boys’ Foil Silver, Randy Poon Jun Yuan with Boys’ Foil Bronze and Aaron Chew Zhen Jie with Boys’ Sabre Silver, Lim Wen Jun with Boys’ Sabre Bronze.

The girls retained their second placing in the division with Pee Hai Rou securing a Bronze medal in the Girls’ Foil event and Seah Ying Xin obtaining a Bronze medal in the Girls’ Sabre event.

National Inter-school Fencing Championships this year marks one of the best results Hwa Chong Institution had achieved. Even though we did not manage to add the overall B Division Champion to our collection this year, Absolute Fencing acknowledges the hard work from all the fencers and coaches attributing to this incredible feat.  Go Team HCI!

Absolute Fencing also saw brilliant results from one of its fencers, Christabel Yong, who deserves a special mention for her Gold and Silver medals in the A Division Girls’ Sabre and Girls’ Foil events respectively.

Joshua Ian Lim from Absolute Fencing has achieved a new milestone, not only for himself, but for all the young fencers in Singapore, by fighting his way into the top 8 position at this year’s World Cadet Championships.

Held annually at different places around the world, the World Cadet Championships is the most honoured event for the U17 age group. This is literally where the future stars of fencing being to shine. Despite immensely strong competition from traditional powerhouses such as Italy, Germany, Russia and Japan, Joshua has done Singapore proud by finishing overall 8^th, proving to the world that fencers from the little red dot can be a force to be reckoned with.

Seeded 39^th after the poules, Joshua first eliminated Tomas Vasoncelos from Portugal 15-3 before winning Miguel Navas from Belgium in a tough fight, 15-12. In the next round, Joshua triumphed over Tagya Yuvacan from Turkey in a relatively easy bout, winning 15-8. After advancing to the round of 8, Joshua lost to a superior Japanese fencer, Kyosuke Matsuyama, 15-4, who eventually won the champion title.

On his performance that day, Joshua himself commented modestly, “It was a great day of fencing for me and I’m happy to be able to go so far, even though I never expected to do so. Fortunately I managed to make some good decisions on the piste and exploited many mistakes of my opponents.” A commentator from the live stream on Youtube also praised Joshua as having “incredible defense”.

During the event, many fellow Absolute Fencing members watched the live stream online and supported Joshua from home. Christian Lim Wei Rong said “Joshua has always been a source of inspiration for us and we will do whatever we can to support him”. Lastly, Joshua voiced that achieving a top 8 position is great but certainly not enough, and he aims to become a real world champion next year. “It’s only the beginning,” he said.

Through his extraordinary performance, Joshua has opened a new doorway into international fencing for fellow young talents in Singapore. We at ABF congratulate Joshua for his results and at the same time urge more young ABF fencers to follow his footsteps. Dream big, soar high.

Joshua Ian Lim displayed his formidable prowess in the Boys’ Foil Individual event as he cruised his way to the finals. In the semi-finals, Joshua annihilated his Malaysian opponent with a convincing score of 15-6. Moving to the finals, he was bravely confronted by Hong Kong fencer Ryan Choi who had put on a tough fight. But nothing could stop Joshua, who eventually defeated his adversary 15-12, from achieving his Gold Medal.

A remarkable performance was also put up by Daniel Chui, who rounded up in the 8^th position in the Boys’ Foil individual event.

We heard good things come in pairs: Choy Yu Yong also celebrated his victory in the Boys’ Sabre event with an individual Gold Medal. Yu Yong took down Christopher Rosin from Blade Club with a score of 15-9 in the semi-finals before challenging Yeo Yilei, who was the number one seed after the round of poules, in the finals. It was a close match, but Yu Yong rose up to the challenge and brought home the Gold Medal with a score of 15-13.

Once again, congratulations double champions! To the other fencers, do not despair; embrace each competition as a learning process and let’s continue to work hard in achieving better results next year!