Fencer Amita Berthier looks to notch more milestones, eyes Asiad podium spot

SINGAPORE – At the top of Amita Berthier’s to-do list this week is getting reacquainted with old friends and eating some of her favourite local dishes, which include chicken rice, mee pok and beef rendang.

But once she satisfies her cravings during a short break from the piste, it is back to the grind for the national foil fencer as she eyes a podium finish at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Less than two months ago, the 22-year-old claimed a historic bronze at the Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China, and she is hoping to replicate the feat when she returns for the Sept 23-Oct 8 Asiad.

“I definitely have my eyes set on the podium,” said Berthier, who arrived in Singapore on Friday.

“After breaking that milestone for myself and Fencing Singapore, I’m itching to get that medal. It’s not going to be easy but I’m looking forward to it and I’m going to give my best and if I prepare right, I know I can do it.”

On Saturday morning, Berthier and wushu exponent Jowen Lim were announced as Singapore’s flag bearers for the Asian Games at the flag presentation ceremony held at OCBC Square.

At the ceremony, Singtel also announced the renewal of its partnership with the Singapore National Olympic Council – the local telco will sponsor $1.7 million in cash and kind to Team Singapore athletes over the next five years.

At the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018, Berthier and teammates Maxine Wong, Tatiana Wong and Melanie Huang won a team foil bronze – it was Singapore’s first fencing team medal at the event.

Should Berthier finish on the podium in Hangzhou, she will be just the second Singaporean fencer to win an individual medal at the Asiad. Lim Wei Wen clinched an epee bronze at the 2014 Incheon Games.

To prepare for her medal hunt, the fencer will spend the next three weeks in Singapore before returning to the United States, where she is based, to train with coaches Ines Boubakri, an Olympic bronze medallist, and Amgad Khazbak.

While she made history at the Asian championships, the season has had its challenges.

Competing in the individual event at July’s World Fencing Championships in Milan, Berthier lost 15-10 to Maia Weintraub of the United States in the round of 64, while the women’s foil team were beaten 45-35 by Egypt in the last 32.

Despite not performing to her own expectations, the three-gold SEA Games champion is staying positive as she targets direct entry to the Paris Olympics as one of the top two fencers in the Asia-Oceania region.

She said: “I was just a bit disappointed with my results at the world championships because I had one of the best preparations of my life and then I just didn’t get the result that I expected.

“But I just remind myself that it doesn’t mean I’m not a good fencer any more, it’s just ups and downs in the nature of the sport.”

Managing expectations and dealing with disappointments are some things she has been working on with a sports psychologist.

She also credited a strong support system, which includes her family, for helping her through this process.

Her Olympic debut in Tokyo – she was one of two Singapore fencers there – has only made her determined to achieve even more.

She said: “It helps that I’ve made one Olympics before to understand that the pressure is off me now... it’s trying to break each milestone every competition and that’s how I’m approaching competitions.

“It’s more of the drive and determination to know that I deserve to be on the podium and if you never believe, you’ll never achieve it. So I think working with my coach, who has coached the Olympic gold medallist (Lee Kiefer), definitely boosts my confidence.

“Because seeing him believe in me, it definitely makes me believe in myself. So I’m very hungry and I’m not going to stop until I qualify and when I qualify, I’m still going to keep going and hopefully I can break another milestone and keep making history for Singapore.”