Generation Grit: Ex-gangster and fencing coach once thought sport was about building fences

Former gangster-turned-national athlete Lim Wei Wen found a new life in fencing. This is the latest in a series of resilient millennials who defied the odds.

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Mr Lim Wei Wen grew up in a broken family. He fell in with the wrong crowd and joined a gang. While studying at the Institute of Technical Education, he was introduced to fencing and that changed his life.
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SINGAPORE - Mr Lim Wei Wen, 34, initially mistook the sport of fencing for the act of building fences.

The self-confessed "Ah Beng" was studying automotive technology at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Balestier when he was asked if he was keen to try out fencing as a co-curricular activity.

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