The Asian Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships 2022 was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from the 24th of February till the 3rd of March of 2022. The 2020 and 2021 edition of this Major Competition was cancelled due to Covid-19, and we are excited that it has resumed this year!
In the Cadet (Under 17) Women's Épée Individual Event, from SGF we have 17 year old Choong Zi Cheng and 16 year old Denise Seah, both girls qualified and will be representing Singapore.
This was both our girls' first time at a Major Competition. 31 fencers from 10 different countries participated in the Cadet Women's Épée Individual Event.
Zi Cheng won 4 out of 5 bouts in her pools. Her wins were over Toktogulova Aysuluu from Kyrgyzstan 5-1, Saikhom Nelcyrose Devi from India 5-2, Naranbaatar Yalguun from Mongolia 5-1 and Almiri Dhay from Saudi Arabia 5-3. She lost to Murzataeva Dilnaz from Uzbekistan 4-5.
Denise won Tserenpuntsag Tsogtsetsen from Mongolia 5-4, and lost to Lohan Prachi from India 3-5, Lai Hiu Tung from Hong Kong 1-2, Fomina Katrina from Kazakhstan 2-5 and Atabaeva Perizat from Uzbekistan 0-5.
Both Zi Cheng and Denise advanced into the Direct Elimination round. In the Table of 32, Denise was up against seeded 7 Kair Govindnoor from India. Focused and clear, she fenced an intense and nail biting bout, narrowly missing out to progress into the next round with a 14-15 match.
Zi Cheng earned a bye into the Table of 16, where she met Saikhom Nelcyrose Devi from India again. Calm and composed, she won the bout 15-12 to progress into the Quarter-Finals. In the Top 8, Zi Cheng was up against seeded 3 Zuvaydilloyeva from Uzbekistan, she was focused and earned her place in the Top 4 with a 15-11 win.
In the Semi-Finals she was set to fence Lohan Prachi from India, the bout was tight till the end, where Zi Cheng showed who was in better form by pulling off to finish with a 15-13 win, making history to be the first Women's Epee Cadet from Singapore to make it to the finals in the Asian Cadet Fencing Championships. Where she won the Historic Silver for Singapore!
Results can be found here.