Hans can go the distance to reach Olympics after milestone

PETALING JAYA: A milestone outing at the ongoing World Fencing Championships in Milan, Italy, has certainly put foil fencer Hans Yoong (pic) in a good frame of mind to make a bid to become only the third Malaysian fencer to fight on the Olympic stage next year.

The 22-year-old managed to reach the knockout rounds in Milan after winning five of six bouts in the pool stage of the individual foil competition.

He went on to clear his first round hurdle (round of 128) after beating Croatia’s Petar Files 15-11.

Hans was eliminated in the second round (round of 64) after losing 10-15 to Britain’s Kristian Archer, ranked 30th in the world.

Hans eventually finished 40th out of 176 listed competitors in the world meet after the completion of the individual foil event.

It is a first for Malaysian fencing in the foil discipline and Hans is also the only South-East Asian fencer to reach the round of 64 at the world championships.

A total of 180 fencers from 60 countries participated in the men’s individual foil, including Olympians and seasoned campaigners. A country is allowed to enter four of their best fencers and Italy’s Tommaso Marini took the gold after beating American Nick Itkin 15-13 in the final.

Hans’ performance will certainly bolster his efforts to prepare for the Olympic qualification campaign next year.

The best route to qualify for the Olympics will be through the Asia-Oceania qualifiers in April next year, the host city for which has yet to be decided.

It was in the Asia and Oceania qualifiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, two years ago when the Cambodia SEA Games double bronze winner came close to booking his Olympic ticket.

He reached the final before losing 4-15 to China’s Huang Mengkai, the Asian Games reigning champion, who snatched the only ticket at stake.

Only the late Ronnie Theseira (1964 in Tokyo) and Yu Peng Kean (2012 in London) have represented Malaysia in fencing at the Olympics level so far.