Fencer Hans foiled in his bid to reach Olympics but age is still on his side

Fencer Hans Yoong

PETALING JAYA: The Olympic dream is over for fencer Hans Yoong after he bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the Asia-Oceania Qualifier in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates.

The 23-year-old went on his own expenses with the hope of beating the odds and capturing the prized Olympic ticket in the men’s individual foil but somehow found the going tough on Tuesday.

The SEA Games silver medallist defeated Ali Owaida of Qatar 15-13 in his opening match but lost 6-15 to Galim Nurumov of Kazakhstan in the next round.

Taiwan’s Cheng Yi-tung won the men’s foil and the sole Olympic spot after beating reigning SEA Games champion Samuel Elijah Robson of Singapore 15-4 in the final.

The small consolation for United States-based Hans was that he was the only Malaysian fencer who won a match despite not having a personal coach.

Joshua Koh fell 10-15 to Taiwanese Lee Rang in the men’s epee while Wong Tzer Chyuan went down 11-15 to eventual winner Shen Chenpeng of China.

It is not the end of the world for Hans as age is on his side.

His father Datuk David Yoong, who has been the main pillar of support, is optimistic Hans will continue to pursue his passion in fencing.

“Hans just graduated a few months back (with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering), so moving forward he will re-look and strategise to decide on which events to participate.

“Hans had a tough time balancing his studies and his fencing commitment in the last four years.

“Now that he has graduated, we hope to motivate and encourage him to move to the next level.

“We know he has the fencing talent but the only thing now is he lacks the resources as compared to his peers.

“He doesn’t have a permanent coach and resources to guide him and support him fully in his quest,” he said.

The late Ronnie Theseira (1964 in Tokyo) and Yu Peng Kean (2012 in London) remained the only Malaysians who have represented Malaysia in Olympic fencing so far.