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17th ASIAN FENCING GAMES IN GOYANG IN KOREA

The 17th Asian Fencing Games ran from 20th to 25th September 2014 in Goyang, Korea. 270 fencers in all weapons combined were represented, (with 99 female fencers and 171 male fencers) 27 Asian countries crossed swords during this event, a new record for the Asian games.

The Organisation Committee used a very beautiful hall for the competitions, the local technical team followed the FIE requirements to the letter and answered all the needs of our federation. A video refereeing system and scoreboards were hung from the ceilings, making the information particularly easy to see for both the spectators and the fencers and their coaches.

The special rules for the team competitions at these games were clearly explained to all the delegations. In the case of equality in the ranking of the teams, the coaches of each team were invited to the Directoire Technique and participated in a drawing of lots to separate the teams. This provided the utmost transparency.

A particular point was that the Directoire Technique reminded the coaches of the obligation to wear national training suits, and the total ban on shorts and t-shirts, as indicated in the rules, when entering the Field of Play. This regulation was totally respected by the coaches and the Heads of Delegation.

In terms of results, in the individual competitions, Korea won 4 Gold medals (Women’s Foil, Women’s Sabre, Men’s Sabre and Men’s Epee). China won the Men’s Foil and Women’s epee titles. One should note the good results from Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong

The Asian medal winners from the London 2012 Olympic Games competed in the individual competitions and we should particularly note Yuki Ota, Lei Sheng, Sun Yujie, Nam Hyunhee, Jung Jin Sun, Gu Bongil and Kim Jiyeon. The majority won their competitions at the Asian Games 2014.

In the team competitions, the strength of the events was even stronger than in the individual events. Korea confirmed its domination by winning four new Gold medals in Women’s Foil, Women’s Sabre and Men’s Sabre and Men’s Epee. China won the Women’s Epee and Japan, with its star, Yuki Ota, made up a deficit of 10 hits to win a precious Gold medal. This fencer defeated the new individual foil champion, Ma Jian Fei, from China, by a score of 11 to 4, allowing the Japanese team to win this historic medal after a wait of 40 years

Amongst the other notable results, we should take account of Kazakhstan, who won the bronze medal, having beaten the Chinese men’s epee team in the quarter-finals. In this same weapon, the Japanese team achieved, even for them, the best result ever, winning a silver medal after a very good match against Korea in the final. In Men’s sabre the the Iranian team beat china by one hit in a very tense and exciting match in the semi-finals. Even if this team lost to Korea in the final, the silver medal marks an historic high point for fencing in this country. Hong Kong illustrated with 7 bronze medals won against Korea, China, or Japan, its brilliant results. Singapore and Vietnam also won medals during these championships and entered the group of great Asian fencing nations.

We must also mention that even if certain teams did not win medals, they had nonetheless made enormous progress, for example Kirghizstan, Lebanon, Taiwan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The level of these Asian Games was very high and the development of fencing is more and more important on this continent.

The President and the Secretary-General of the Asian Fencing Confederation, Mr Celso Dayrit and Mr Khaled Atiyat were present during these 2014 Asian Games, encouraging both fencers and delegations. Mr Son Kil Seung, President of the Korean Fencing Federation honoured fencing with his presence every day and always from the start of the day to make sure the good running of everything. He provided his total support to the organisation of these championships. Mr Wang Wei, Vice President of the FIE and the Chinese Head of Delegation was also present at the competitions. A warm and friendly atmosphere accompanied these championships. The Directoire Technique, the referees, the Refereeing delegate and the SEMI delegate achieved excellent work and success. A very strong collaboration was established with the Swiss Timing team, who published the results. Equally there were good working relations with the officials, the technical team and the volunteers. Mr Kim Chang Gon, the General Manager of the competition for the organising committee achieved remarkable work and success.

The organisation of the Asian Games was a great and remarkable success.

The next Asian Games will take place in Indonesia in 2018.

AO Jie

Deputy Sport Director