By Phoebe Wong

Singapore Sports School, Monday-Tuesday, April 9-10, 2012 — Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) bagged the A Division boys’ title while Raffles Institution (RI) took the A Division girls’ title at the National Schools Fencing Championships.

HCI, Meridian Junior College (MJC) and Catholic Junior College (CJC) were second, third and fourth respectively in the girls’ overall category, while RI, MJC and CJC ranked second, third and fourth in the boys’ category.

Three events were contested on the first day of competition — the girls’ foil, boys’ sabre and epee.

Liane Wong from Catholic Junior College (CJC), the defending champion, defeated Christabel Yong of Raffles Institution (RI) with a score of 15-9. It was by no means an easy road to the final for both fencers, with Liane having to take on fellow national team fencer Lynn Yeo in the semi-finals.

In the boys’ epee event which was run almost concurrently with the girls’ foil event, Ip Yuan Chang of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) recorded a 15-11 score against Samuel Su in the final. The boys’ epee event saw two withdrawals and an injury severe enough to warrant a fencer being sent to hospital for treatment.

The boys’ sabre rounded up the first day of competition. Held in the afternoon, the sabre event was exciting and exhilarating, with gutsy shows of tenacity and determination. Clive Leu from Meridian Junior College (MJC) eventually triumphed in this event with a score of 15-11 against Aaron Chew of HCI. Both fencers displayed excellent technique and wits as they attempted to outscore each other.

12 medals were up for grabs on the second day — four each for the girls’ epee and sabre, and the boys’ foil.

The girls’ epee saw an all-Raffles final, with Celine Chong battling Cailyn Chiah in the final. Both girls had recorded wins in all their bouts in the poules and did well in their direct elimination matches, recording wins. Both fencers were unceasing in their fight for the gold, but the scoreboard eventually read 12-7 in favour of Celine.

The final of the boys’ foil event was contested by Ong Chan Hao of HCI and He Ziyang of Serangoon Secondary School. Ziyang eventually triumphed with a score of 15-0. Although the scoreline suggests a one-sided battle, this was actually not the case. Both fencers fought to the death for every point and sought to be faster and more accurate compared to his opponent on the other end of the piste. Ziyang took control of the match from the start and never looked back to clinch the gold.

The last event of the A Division championships was the girls’ sabre event. Christabel Yong from RI was up against Yeo Mei Li of MJC. Mei Li had won the silver medal last year in the same event, and looked set for silver again when Christabel racked up a string of points from the get-go.

However, Mei Li managed to thwart Christabel’s attacks and narrowed the deficit to just two points at one point. It was an interesting match of skills, and calm nerves. Eventually, the match ended 15-12 in favour of Christabel. The RI fencer took home a second medal after the silver she won the previous day in the girls’ foil event.

Team Results
Boys
1st Hwa Chong Institution
2nd Raffles Institution
3rd Meridian Junior College
4th Catholic Junior College

Girls
1st Raffles Institution
2nd Hwa Chong Intitution
3rd Meridian Junior College
4th Catholic Junior College