FRIENDLY rivals Syed Adam Emir Putra and Tristan Cheng continued to engage in their on-going duels at the inaugural Federal Territories Young Stars Foil Fencing Championships at the Bakti building in Taman Tun Dr Ismail recently.
And the duo produced healthy exchanges in the tussle for supremacy in both the boys’ Under-12 and Under-14 age-groups.
The top ranked Adam from Jung Fencing Academy lived up to his billing and overcame Tristan of Kuala Lumpur Fencing Centre (KLFC) with a convincing 15-6 victory to emerge as the boys’ Under-12 champion.
Hope to win next: Silver medallist Syed Adam aims to win the gold medal next time. KLFC coach Mohd Zainal Abidin admitted the in-form Adam kept Tristan at bay to wrap up his opening day stint on a victorious note.
“After a smooth passage in the group and early stages of the elimination rounds, Tristan struggled to get into the right rhythm to match Adam,” he said.
Although second seeded Tristan did not offer much resistance to trouble Adam in the first encounter, he bounced back strongly from the setback and gave a praiseworthy account in the boys’ Under-14 section on the following day.
And Tristan reversed the outcome and ended Adam’s campaign 15-5 for a place in the boys’ Under-14 final.
After showing glimpses of brilliance for a comfortable 13-7 advantage in the championship bout, Zainal recalled that Tristan survived a late fightback from top seed M. Vinnoth of Jung Fencing Academy.
“Tristan found it difficult to earn the final two points and pull off the win in style. He allowed Vinnoth to catch up and was just holding on to a slim 14-13 lead. He showed his maturity and kept his composure at the crucial stages to create an upset. He was very patient when Vinnoth came charging at him. He took his chances well and pounced on Vinnoth when his opponent missed an attempt to chalk up a hard-earned 15-13 win,” said Zainal.
Meanwhile, it was also a fruitful outing for another emerging talent Joel Chiu Ka Jyn from Touche Fencing Club.
This is the right way: Zainal (left) giving some tips to the young fencers Syed Adam (right) and Tristan. Joel bagged the boys’ Under-Eight title and also settled for third as one of the losing semi-finalists in the boys’ Under-10 section.
In addition, the boys’ Under-10 contest attracted an encouraging turnout with 26 exponents in the fray.
A total of 80 competitors from seven clubs competed in seven categories at the two-day meet hosted by the Federal Territories Amateur Fencing Association (FTAFA).
Among the four other Klang Valley based clubs in the fray were Z-Fencing, Trinity Fencing Club, One Fencing Club and Swashbucklers Fencing.
“The participants were eager to gauge their strength against their peers from various training centres. They are certainly looking forward to featuring in the similar event more regularly with the organisers considering to host a meet quarterly for next season,” said Zainal.
Winner: Tristan posing with his champion’s trophy. Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur Fencing Club will be fielding their fencers in the Under-12 section of the Z-Fencing meet on Dec 3 and 4 followed by another outing in the Under-14 section at the YMCA competition in Singapore on Dec 10 and 11.
Besides Tristan, the foursome of Nicholas Lim, Daniel Chen, Hans Yoong and Lee Ting An under Zainal’s tutelage will be attempting to make an impact in both competitions.
As a prelude to the back-to-back competitions in Singapore at the end of the year, Zainal said they were considering to travel up north to Penang for a training camp over the weekend.
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