Singapore women's foil team win third bronze medal in four years at Asian fencing C'ships
(From left) Maxine Wong, Stephanie Lee, Cheung Kemei and Amita Berthier won joint-bronze in their women's team foil event at the Asian Fencing Championships. PHOTO: BIZZITEAM
SINGAPORE – After disappointment in the women's individual foil event, the quartet of Singapore fencers – Amita Berthier, Maxine Wong, Cheung Kemei and Stephanie Lee – rallied together in their team event to claim a joint-bronze medal at the Asian Fencing Championships on June 20 .
It is the third time in the last four years that the women's foil team have made the podium after successive joint-bronze medals in 2023 and 2022.
This is Singapore's third medal at this meet, following Juliet Heng's silver in the women's individual sabre event and Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman's joint-bronze in the women's individual epee.
After losing to South Korea in the quarter-finals of the 2024 edition in Kuwait , Berthier in particular, was 'glad that we're back on the podium' at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia.
'Once you make it, you always want to keep doing it. It's like a little bit... like an addiction. So we're definitely satisfied,' said Berthier.
The two-time Olympian added: 'I think we always have to earn our right to get to the podium because you can't underestimate anybody. But it definitely was the goal, and I think we achieved the goal today.'
The team medal offered some consolation to the 24-year-old, who admitted that she was not at her best in the individual foil event. She bowed out in the round of 32 after losing 15-6 to New Zealand's world No. 290 Ruby Chan.
Berthier, who is ranked world No. 39 , said: 'It definitely wasn't what I was looking for. But things like this happen. It (the defeat) was more of a mental thing than a technical or physical (issue).
'It's still taking a little bit of a toll on me but I (have) to put those feelings aside. I'm just proud of myself (for) how I bounced back for the team (event),' said Berthier, who won joint-bronze in the individual foil in 2023 .
The individual foil proved challenging for all four team members. Like Berthier, 17-year-old and tournament debutant Stephanie Lee (world No. 209 ) was eliminated in the round of 32.
Cheung (world No. 123) was knocked out in the round of 16 while Wong (world No. 72) could not get past the quarter-finals.
Nevertheless, they were able to put those setbacks aside to win a team medal.
In their first match against Indonesia, they were convincing winners, prevailing 45-12. They then came up against Chinese Taipei and despite trailing 14-15 at the end of the third bout, they managed to come back, emerging victorious to win 43-29 .
'We were struggling a little bit in the beginning, but eventually we found our rhythm and we got back on track,' said Berthier.
However, their semi-final opponents J apan were just too hot to handle as the Singaporeans were defeated 45-23.
Assistant coach Joseph Engert was not too distraught by the result. With a place on the podium already secured, he saw the match against superior opposition as an opportunity to 'gain information'.
'We have the world championships, SEA Games coming up. We have big missions ahead next year for Asian Games. So we are actually learning in this process as well as really understanding each other better. We are building a team. Only together we can achieve really serious things,' said the 39-year-old German.
In the final, Japan beat China 36-24 to win the gold. Hong Kong were the other team to claim a bronze medal.
T he team events resume on June 21 with the men's epee and women's sabre fencers in action.
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(From left) Maxine Wong, Stephanie Lee, Cheung Kemei and Amita Berthier won joint-bronze in their women's team foil event at the Asian Fencing Championships. PHOTO: BIZZITEAM SINGAPORE – After disappointment in the women's individual foil event, the quartet of Singapore fencers – Amita Berthier, Maxine Wong, Cheung Kemei and Stephanie Lee – rallied together in their team event to claim a joint-bronze medal at the Asian Fencing Championships on June 20 . It is the third time in the last four years that the women's foil team have made the podium after successive joint-bronze medals in 2023 and 2022. This is Singapore's third medal at this meet, following Juliet Heng's silver in the women's individual sabre event and Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman's joint-bronze in the women's individual epee. After losing to South Korea in the quarter-finals of the 2024 edition in Kuwait , Berthier in particular, was 'glad that we're back on the podium' at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia. 'Once you make it, you always want to keep doing it. It's like a little bit... like an addiction. So we're definitely satisfied,' said Berthier. The two-time Olympian added: 'I think we always have to earn our right to get to the podium because you can't underestimate anybody. But it definitely was the goal, and I think we achieved the goal today.' The team medal offered some consolation to the 24-year-old, who admitted that she was not at her best in the individual foil event. She bowed out in the round of 32 after losing 15-6 to New Zealand's world No. 290 Ruby Chan. Berthier, who is ranked world No. 39 , said: 'It definitely wasn't what I was looking for. But things like this happen. It (the defeat) was more of a mental thing than a technical or physical (issue). 'It's still taking a little bit of a toll on me but I (have) to put those feelings aside. I'm just proud of myself (for) how I bounced back for the team (event),' said Berthier, who won joint-bronze in the individual foil in 2023 . The individual foil proved challenging for all four team members. Like Berthier, 17-year-old and tournament debutant Stephanie Lee (world No. 209 ) was eliminated in the round of 32. Cheung (world No. 123) was knocked out in the round of 16 while Wong (world No. 72) could not get past the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, they were able to put those setbacks aside to win a team medal. In their first match against Indonesia, they were convincing winners, prevailing 45-12. They then came up against Chinese Taipei and despite trailing 14-15 at the end of the third bout, they managed to come back, emerging victorious to win 43-29 . 'We were struggling a little bit in the beginning, but eventually we found our rhythm and we got back on track,' said Berthier. However, their semi-final opponents J apan were just too hot to handle as the Singaporeans were defeated 45-23. Assistant coach Joseph Engert was not too distraught by the result. With a place on the podium already secured, he saw the match against superior opposition as an opportunity to 'gain information'. 'We have the world championships, SEA Games coming up. We have big missions ahead next year for Asian Games. So we are actually learning in this process as well as really understanding each other better. We are building a team. Only together we can achieve really serious things,' said the 39-year-old German. In the final, Japan beat China 36-24 to win the gold. Hong Kong were the other team to claim a bronze medal. T he team events resume on June 21 with the men's epee and women's sabre fencers in action. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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