PETALING JAYA: National fencer Hans Yoong has been grappling with form issues for the past few months, but the Covid-19 pandemic period has given him lots of food for thought and he hopes to bounce back once the situation subsides.
The University of Notre Dame student, who is now in Malaysia, said the quarantine has been helpful for him to assess his weaknesses and build on his strength before the Olympics qualifiers resume.
“I’m not saying the pandemic was a good thing but I was not on my best form over the past few months,” said the 19-year-old.
“With the postponing of the Olympics, I believe I have more time to reflect on my weaknesses and improve.
“Before Covid-19 struck, I missed the Anaheim Grandprix and the Seoul qualifiers. Anaheim was important to my build-up to the qualifier because I needed one more round of intense fencing to get that competitive edge.”
His training at Notre Dame in Indiana has yielded results as could be seen from his silver medal in the Philippines SEA Games. He fought valiantly in his final bout against Thailand’s Mayakarn Chornnasun before settling for second place.
Coached by Buckie Leach and Gia Kvaratskhelia, he has learnt new techniques and built his mental strength, but he knows he can do better and hopes to come right in the Olympic qualifiers.
As he is ranked 288st in the world, Hans said it would be tough to qualify based on his rankings but he would look for competitive exposure before the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers.
“I’ve been trying to maintain my fitness by doing body weight exercises as well as attending fencing zoom classes to keep my technique in check.
“I am back in Malaysia now. The situation seems to be improving, but with conditional MCO (movement control order) ongoing, I just hope we do not face a second wave of the virus so we can head back to train.
“I hope I can return to the US to resume my studies and training.”
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