PHNOM PENH – It is a record haul of gold medals for Singapore at the SEA Games, but Fencing Singapore technical director Marko Milic wants even more.
His athletes ended their campaign in Cambodia on Tuesday with seven titles from 12 finals, a tally that Milic believes is now the bare minimum for the Republic given the talent and depth available.
“Seven was our internal target, so we performed to expectations,” he said.
“We are aiming to win all 12 golds in 2029 (when Singapore hosts the Games). We need to be ambitious, that’s what sport is. We must try to be better than the last time.”
While the Republic dominated the individual categories in Phnom Penh and captured five of the six golds available – missing out only on the men’s sabre crown – the team events were a different matter.
The quartet of Elle Koh, Kiria Tikanah, Filzah Hidayah and Rebecca Ong on Tuesday retained their women’s epee team crown, beating the Philippines 45-37. But the men’s foil team could not follow their lead in the subsequent final.
In a tense clash that lasted 70 minutes, the foursome of Samuel Robson, Max Neo, Zephaniah Kiew and Lionel Wee built up a 30-27 lead but were unable to hold off the Vietnamese.
In the final three bouts, the Singaporeans could manage only seven points as Vietnam, who also came from behind to beat Thailand and Malaysia in the previous rounds, racked up 18 points to prevail 45-37.
Samuel, 17, who won the individual foil, said: “The largest lead we had was five points, same for them, going into the final bout. No one was really that far ahead of the other. The turning point was perhaps at the halfway mark, they started to gain back some ground and eventually got ahead.”
Men’s foil coach Joseph Engert noted that all four fencers were making their Games debut and this was a valuable learning experience in their development.
While the men’s epee and foil teams were victorious in Vietnam a year ago, neither were able to retain their crowns at the Chroy Changvar International Convention Centre.
The foil team are all new, while the epee team were missing veteran Samson Lee, dropped from the squad for missing three training sessions. His replacement in the individual event, Si To Jian Tong, 19, went on to win gold, a first in the event for Singapore.
Milic said there were 11 debutants in the 23-member squad and many featured in the team events as the association wanted them to gain experience and aid their development for the longer term.
“So it’s normal if our team events are affected, but we are looking at bigger competitions like the Asian Games and Olympics,” he added.
Aside from Si To’s historic victory, the men’s sabre team reached the final for the first time, another step in the right direction despite losing to Vietnam, noted the Serb.
Singapore’s fencers racked up seven golds, three silvers and six bronzes to finish as the top performing nation, improving on the 6-4-5 figure in Hanoi.
Elle, 15, made her debut in Hanoi with two epee golds and repeated it here. There was no secret to success. She said: “We put in teamwork, encouraged each other and supported each other all the way through.”
