Youth Olympic Fencing: Liane Wong finishes in last eight to give Singapore a good start

By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Low Sze Sen/Red Sports

International Convention Centre, Sunday, August 15, 2010 – Liane Wong may be only 1.55 metres, but she stood tall for Singapore and did her nation proud against opponents with greater height when she finished in the top eight in the Fencing Cadet Female Individual Foil category.

Although she didn’t finish with a medal, Liane did not seem disappointed as she reached her target of a top-eight finish.

“I am not upset at all!” beamed Liane after her quarter-final defeat to Russian Alekseeva Victoria. “Fencing Singapore was targeting just one top-eight finish from this games and I reached it today! I didn’t go through the normal qualification, but I managed to be seeded six in the round of 16 so it was pretty okay.”

Although Liane came into the tournament seeded 10th, she quickly put any doubts of her ability to rest, winning three of her five bouts in her pool. With her victories, the 16-year-old was placed second in her pool and was seeded sixth in the round of 16.

Her opening match against Carballo Barrera Ivania of El Salvador was an easy warm-up for her as she swept her opponent 5-2.

She faltered in her next match against Korea’s Choi Duk Ha, losing 1-5, but quickly recovered to defeat third seed Wang Lianlian of China in her next bout. She made it look easy against her 1.78 metre opponent, beating her 5-1.

Even though she lost against second seed Dora Lupkovics from Hungary, she recovered to beat Slovakia’s Cellerova Michala, a fencer seeded higher than her.

”I started out very cautious against her,” described Liane about her impressive bout against the highly-ranked Chinese fencer. “But after I saw her match against the Slovakian, I knew what I had to do.”

“The supporters are great. I’ve never experienced this atmosphere before and it spurred me on,” said Liane about the immense support for her. “I don’t find it distracting at all and I’m not really feeling worried or nervous about the next round.”

Her fellow fencers, Justin Ong and Lim Wei Hao, were in the stands supporting her throughout her matches.

“She did quite well today and did perform up to expectations,” said Wei Hao about his teammate’s performance. “Against the highly-seeded Chinese opponent, she did exceptionally well. Time was running out, but she was able to come out victorious.”

In the round of 16, Liane went up against Carballo Barrera Ivania of El Salvador, the fencer she first faced in her pool. Previously, Liane had her way with her opponent, winning 5-2, but this time, in a race to 15 points, she struggled to pull away as Barrera harassed her with swift attacks.

Liane eventually managed to pull away at 12-9, but just when it looked like she would easily wrap up the match, her opponent came back strongly to tie the game at 12-12. With the crowd firmly behind her, however, she powered forward for the last three points to seal her spot in the last eight.

“I knew a victory was possible,” said Liane after her match. “So I wasn’t really nervous before the match. When she caught up with me and tied the game, I just told myself to concentrate and do my best.”

Her opponent in the last eight, third seed Alekseeva Victoria, proved too strong and experienced for her. Although she was able to keep up when she trailed by just 4-6, she surrendered the last nine of 10 points and eventually fell 5-15 to the Russian.

“She was tactically better than me,” said Liane of her opponent. “I didn’t really defend, but I guess the whole experience was really good for me. And that’s what I would take away from the YOG. I faced different opponents so it really broadened my experience of fencing.”

“Now, my next target will be 2016 Olympic Games! I don’t think I can make the Asian Games team because there are more capable people than me in the team,” commented Liane.

And for her fellow national youth fencers, she said: “Fence hard and don’t give up! Along the way there will be many positives and you should learn from your mistakes.”

“It is really quite exciting supporting each other,” said Wei Hao, who competes in tomorrow’s tournament. “Today is the first day so it is really good that she puts Singapore on the right track.”