Touche!: FT’s Kaerlan Vinod Kamalanathan (right) in action against teammate Goh Wen Hao in the individual foil final. Inset: Kaerlan posing with the gold medal. —Bernama
FENCER Kaerlan Vinod Kamalanathan has an experienced head on his young shoulders.
At only 16, he aiming to compete in what will be his third SEA Games next year, and made his intentions clear by capturing gold and silver in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching.
The youngster defeated Federal Territories teammate Goh Wen Hao 15-12 to win the gold in the boys’ individual foil and then helped his team finish with a silver in the team event after losing 5-10 to Sarawak in the final in Miri yesterday.
Despite missing out on the team event gold, Kaerlan played an important role in helping the team beat Selangor 45-40 in a closely fought last four tie.
Kaerlan, who trains under Vietnamese coach Tran Van Anh, was pleased with his achievements in Sukma.
“I have to thank my coach, who has helped me both in terms of strength and skill,” said Kaerlan.
“I have also been training in Singapore and Taiwan recently. I was recently given an opportunity to fence in the Asian Fencing Championships in Kuwait and this helped me gain a lot of experience.
“All these paid off for me. I’m so happy with my performance in Sukma.
‘‘I always believe that if you love what you do, all the hard work, sweat and tears will pay off.
“Of course, I hope to be selected again for the SEA Games next year,” added Kaerlan.
Kaerlan, who started fencing at the age of six, made his debut in the SEA Games in Vietnam two years ago when he was only 14 and won a silver in the team event along with Hans Yoong, Cheng Xing Han and Chong Hong Li.
Last year, the youngster combined with Xing Han, Hans and Wen Hao to win a bronze in the Cambodia Games.
FinalsBoysIndividual foil: Kaerlan Vinod Kamalanathan (FT) bt Goh Wen Hao 15-12. Team foil: Chang Kai Yong, Chong Hong Li, Chong Ting Jing, Lee Li Hsuen (Swk) bt Kaelan Vinod Kamalanathan, Goh Wen Hao, Ethan Yam, Uzair Zafran Rizwan (FT) 10-5.
