SEA Games 2025: ‘Shadow fencer’ Samuel Robson helps foil team reclaim gold
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(From left) Raphael Tan, Julian Soh, Samuel Robson and Jonathan Lim with their gold medals.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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- Samuel Robson adapted his training in national service, shadow fencing and using tennis balls to maintain his skills.
- Singapore's fencing team achieved significant success, including team gold medals in both men's foil (45-20 against Malaysia) and women's epee (45-36 against Thailand).
- Fencers like Elle Koh highlight the importance of consistent training and teamwork, as Singapore aims for more medals in the final day's events.
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BANGKOK – National fencer Samuel Robson must be known as the odd one among the many soldiers at Hendon Camp in Changi, the base of the Singapore Armed Forces’ commandos.
Since enlisting for national service in January, he has had to resort to some unique training methods in camp as he is unable to train as regularly.
To sharpen his craft, he does shadow fencing outside his bunk.
Visualising his opponent ahead of him, Robson would hold an imaginary foil and fence for hours. On some days, to train his reaction speed, he would repeatedly bounce tennis balls off the wall and catch them.
The 19-year-old does his training drills or goes for jogs and gym sessions after completing his duties for the day, doing so from around 7pm till close to “lights out”.
Those efforts paid off on Dec 18, when Robson showed no ring rust on the piste at the Fashion Island Shopping Mall’s Island Hall. He combined with Jonathan Lim, Julian Soh and Raphael Tan to beat Malaysia 45-20 and reclaim the men’s team foil gold.
It set the stage for a third straight day of victories for Singapore’s fencers. The women’s epee team of Elle Koh, Kiria Tikanah, Esther Tan and Filzah Hidayah Nor Anuar later secured a 45-36 win over hosts Thailand to bag the sport’s sixth gold at these Games.
Robson said: “I do as much as I can in camp just so that I can keep up with the guys who are outside, who can train most of the time in the national training centre. I can’t do that, so I work on what I can in camp.”
“The movements I make are the same as I would make on the strip where I am in my fencing stance.
“I simulate it with my lunges, the steps, my footwork, so that when I’m actually on the strip, I’m not lost, I’m not as out of touch.”
The 2023 Games individual men’s foil champion did not defend his title in Bangkok as he was not one of the two Singaporeans selected for the event.
His enlistment meant that he had missed crucial training sessions and competitions, and was therefore further down the pecking order.
“Of course, the fact that I did not compete in individual was a bit of a bummer,” said Robson, who was part of the defending men’s team who lost the final to Vietnam in 2023.
“I really wanted to defend my title from the last SEA Games. But I am looking forward to... next year, to the World Championships and the Asian Games.
“And eventually, when I finish up my NS next November, I want to get back into fencing again.”
Tan, 20, who won two golds in the team and individual events in his Games bow, said: “As you can see from the results, we dominated in the finals.
“It’s great to pile on another gold to my individual performance, but I’m really happy for the guys as we worked together and we came together as one.”
Double gold medallist (epee team and individual) Elle, 18, also paid tribute to the collective strength of her team, who won Singapore’s third consecutive women’s epee team title.
“Our consistent result shows how much effort we have put in and how much we train,” she said. “We really go all out in training and competitions, learning at every possible moment.
“Every time we come back (to the Games), we know that we have put in the work. And even though it’s stressful and we have a title to defend, we know that we have the skills to do it.”
Earlier in the day, the women’s sabre team of Juliet Heng, Christine Tan, Jermaine Tan and Jae Lim took the silver after their 45-32 loss to Thailand in the final.
They beat defending champions Vietnam 45-41 in the semi-final to achieve Singapore’s best finish in the women’s sabre event after four previous bronzes.
On Dec 17, Amita Berthier showed her class with a 15-4 victory in an all-Singaporean individual women’s foil final against Maxine Wong
On Dec 16, they made it three wins out of three with golds from Heng (women’s individual sabre), Tan and Koh.
There could be more joy for Team Singapore with three events – men’s epee team, men’s sabre team and women’s foil team – on the final day of fencing on Dec 19.
In 2023, Singapore finished as the regional event’s top fencing nation
