Singapore's Kiria Tikanah wins bronze at Asian Fencing C'ships and praise from coach
Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman won the bronze medal in the women's individual eepe at the Asian Fencing Championships. PHOTO: BIZZITEAM
SINGAPORE – In clinching a joint-bronze at the Asian Fencing Championships on June 19 , Singapore epee fencer Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman finished on the podium of the continental meet for the first time.
But the world No. 70 said she was 'more relieved than excited' to win silverware for the Republic after she went down fighting in the semi-finals against South Korea's world No. 1 Song Se-ra, before losing 15-12 at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia .
'I was stuck at the top 16 for many years, sometimes even worse. It was good to just be out of that (round) for a bit and come home with a medal. I wanted to surpass my past results,' the 24-year-old told The Straits Times.
The two-time Olympian had reached the round of 32 and round of 16 of the Asian championships in 2024 and 2023 respectively.
She added: 'I wasn't really focused about putting that kind of stress (of winning a medal) on myself, but it was definitely a goal I had at the back of my mind.'
Her coach Henry Koh, however, believes that she was being 'very modest' with her evaluation of her performance.
Koh, 50, said: 'Kiria is very tough on herself. There were many moments in today's events that if she had made an additional mistake or given up or didn't give her best, she wouldn't be at the medal stage because there were very good fencers (all around).'
His charge certainly proved that she belongs at this stage. After winning all five bouts in the opening pool stage, she secured a bye and moved to the round of 32.
There she beat Kazakhstan's world No. 115 Sofiya Nikolaichuk 15-13, before overcoming world No. 145 Taniksha Khatri of India by the same score.
At the quarter-final stage, Kiria came from behind to prevail 15-11 against Hong Kong's world No. 74 Chan Wai Ling.
While she was unable to overcome the top-ranked Song in the semi-finals, Kiria improved on their previous meetings at the Fencing World Cup in March 2024 and May 2025.
She had lost 15-7 on both occasions , but Koh felt that Kiria had 'made a breakthrough' after their last encounter.
He said: 'I told her that there was a specific strategy we could work on and (today) we were saying if we meet her (Song) again, we know we can beat her.'
Coach Henry Koh (left) believes Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman can fence against anyone in the world.
PHOTO: BIZZITEAM
Kiria went toe to toe with Song, keeping the score as close as 10-10 in their bout. But Song's experience shone through, as the 31-year-old clinched victory late on.
'I mean, we are talking about the No. 1 in the world here,' said Koh. 'But it was very close all the way to the end. I would say that (Kiria) really showed that she's world class.
'And you know, she's gone to two Olympics. People should recognise her for what she can do.'
Adding that fencing is a 'very, very ruthless' sport, Koh stressed: 'She has proven that she can fence with anyone.'
Song went on to clinch the gold with a 15-10 win over China's world No. 133 Yang Jingwen, who had beaten Kiria's teammate Elle Koh 15-14 in the round of 16. Kaylin Hsieh of Hong Kong took the other bronze medal .
Kiria's joint-bronze is Singapore's second medal at the meet, after Juliet Heng won a silver in the women's individual sabre on June 18.
The team events will kick off on June 20, with Singapore's fencers competing in the men's sabre and women's foil categories.
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