Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE national fencing team are looking to come back much stronger after undergoing intensive training in South Korea in preparation for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.
Brothers Mohammad Haziq and Mohd Anaqi Danish Asahrin, Adrian Wong Kiat Ming and Hjh Anis Sabrina Hj Yahya are the four fencers selected for the May 5-17 Games.
"We are focused on improving both our technical and tactical aspects of the game, as well as improve our competitive mentality because here we do a lot of sparring (both individual and team) with the Koreans," said national fencing coach Rocky Poerawinata in an interview with BruSports News.
"Their abilities are above ours so it is very good and ideal because it helps improve the rhythm of our game.
"What we all know is that the mentality to never give up is instilled in the Koreans and we hope that the Bruneian athletes will gain a lot of valuable lessons and knowledge to be at their peak going into the SEA Games," added Poerawinata.
Training is currently as many as three sessions per day and will culminate with warm-up games as they compete in the Grand Prix F.I.E. in Seoul from 27th - 29th April before returning to the Sultanate.
The men's sabre team most recently captured the bronze medal at the SEAFF Fencing Championships 2023 in Kuala Lumpur in January.
When asked on how they can carry the momentum forward, the national fencing coach replied: "Getting a medal at the SEAFF by defeating the Indonesian team is something to be grateful for.
"But we all know that with the remaining time, we will best prepare ourselves as much as possible, because the other ASEAN countries are also continuing to train and improve their performance.
The Indonesian coach disclosed that the Indonesian team are currently training in Budapest, the Filipino team in Hong Kong and the Singapore team in Europe.
"With the improvement in quality of the athletes in each country, it is certain that the competition at the SEA Games will be tougher and for those having a strong mentality, it is certain that they will reach the podium," said Poerawinata.
"We will try to give our best performance at the Games and hopefully we can play to our maximum, be relaxed and play smartly to bring glory to the country," he concluded.
