Nguyen Tien Nhat of Vietnam (right) competes with Jose Noelito of the Philippines in the final of the men's epee single match during the 31st SEA Games last month. Nhat will be one of the Vietnamese athletes at the Southeast Asian championship in July. (Photo: VNA)The Southeast Asian and Pacific Fencing Championships will be held on July 4-14in the Philippines, while the World Fencing Championship tournament eventwill be from July 15-23 in Egypt.
"We will open door to compete at the Southeast Asian and Pacificchampionship for athletes of every Vietnamese club. It will be an opportunityfor them to test their skills against regional competitors, who showedtheir strength at the recent SEA Games," said Phung Le Quang, head ofthe Fencing Department of the Vietnam Sports Administration.
The national team members who won medals at last month's Games will beattending, including Vu Thanh An (men's single sabre), Nguyen Tien Nhat(men's single epee) and Bui Thi Thu Ha (women's single sabre).
At the SEA Games, Vietnam grabbed five golds out of 12 available. The hostsplaced second behind Singapore (six golds) in the medal tally. The Philippinestook one title to finish third.
“We try to send our athletes to as many tournaments as possible so that theycan sharpen their skills. After years of the COVID-19 pandemic, my athletesneed to compete to collect experience and points for their qualification to theParis Olympics in 2024," Quang said.
"My fencers trained hard and competed well at the 31st SEA Games. We hopethat they will bring the best use of that experience to the regionalchampionship," head coach Pham Anh Tuan said.
"These tournaments are not only for senior but also juniorathletes, who really need to gain tactical knowledge and real competitionexperience to better their career."
In other fencing news, the Vietnam Fencing Federation will hold its firstcongress in July when the first members of the executive committee will beintroduced.
"Most preparation activities for the congress have been done. Thefederation will ensure that fencing runs better and more effectively,"Quang said, revealing that their first President would be Nguyen Manh Hung,PhD, former rector of HCM City's Hong Bang International University.
"In developed countries, fencing is not only an elite sport but also asport for all. There are many clubs established to serve people's demands andto popularise the fencing development in the community," Quang said.
"We hope that the national federation will play a key role in pushing upthe fencing movement and finding more social funds for the sport. The localpeople will have a chance to access easier to fencing and we might find talentsfor the country," he said./.
VNA
