NATIONAL fencer Hans Yoong is not a happy man – he felt the gold was within his reach in the individual foil event but a lack of competition had spoilt it for him.
The 21-year-old University of Notre Dame student lost to Singapore’s Jonathan Au 15-11 in the semi-final at the Hanoi Indoor Games Palace yesterday.
Jonathan went on to win the competition, beating the Philippines’ Nathaniel Mangubat 15-7.
In the 2017 SEA Games in Manila, Hans had won silver when he lost to Thailand’s Mayakkarn Chornnasun 14-15 in the final.
He felt he could have bettered that performance this time, but it was not to be.
“Obviously, I am very disappointed with my bronze as I was definitely more than capable of winning gold today,” he said.
Hans said the lack of competition hampered his progress a little but believes he will get better for the 2023 Games in Cambodia.
“I did not get many chances to compete over the past two years due to Covid-19 but the SEA Games will be happening next year, so I hope to be able to travel more and compete with world-class fencers.”
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