Hong Kong foilist Daphne Chan claims maiden Asian Fencing Championships bronze
Hong Kong foil head coach Greg Koenig said he was proud of all four team members after Daphne Chan Nok-sze won the city’s first women’s individual bronze medal at the Asian Championships. The Frenchman also hoped the quartet could maintain the same level of performance and mentality for the team eve
By Mike Chan
Hong Kong foil head coach Greg Koenig said he was proud of all four team members after Daphne Chan Nok-sze won the city’s first women’s individual bronze medal at the Asian Championships.
The Frenchman also hoped the quartet could maintain the same level of performance and mentality for the team event, which begins on Monday.
Foilists Chan, Valerie Cheng Hiu-wai, Zareena Leung Yan-kiu, and Janelle Leung Ya-lei all reached the knockout stage of the individual competition.
An Asian Games bronze medallist in Hangzhou three years ago, Chan dispatched a pair of South Korean fencers, and advanced to the semi-final with a 15-12 win over Japanese foilist Sumire Suji, stopping Japan from occupying all four semi-final berths.
But a 15-8 loss to Sera Azuma, who had earlier eliminated Cheng in the quarter-finals, left the 21-year-old Chan finishing with a maiden third-place finish at the championships.
Azuma went on to lose 15-10 to compatriot Yuka Ueno in the final, with Komaki Kikuchi also ending the contest with a bronze medal.
In the upper half of the draw, Leung Yan-kiu lost in the second round while Leung Ya-lei lasted one more round, before losing 15-12 to Kikuchi.
“Chan fenced exceptionally well from the pools all the way to the semi-finals, showing great confidence in herself and was fencing with a very strong mindset,” Koenig said.
“Cheng finished in the top eight and came very close to a medal. She produced outstanding fencing all day long, but Azuma was simply too strong in that bout.
“As for Janelle Leung, she showed a very high level of fencing throughout the bout and came very close to defeating Kikuchi, a world-class fencer, while Zareena Leung gained valuable experience that will benefit her in the future.”
In the men’s sabre event, Royce Chan Lok-hei was the best performer among the city’s quartet in New Delhi.
The world No 140 went toe-to-toe with Shido Tsumori in the quarter-finals, and only lost 15-14 in a tight battle against the Japanese fencer, who is ranked 109 places above him.