| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam national fencers will be hoping to use their training experience in Hong Kong sparring with the world-class national team and receiving valuable advice from the coach to their benefit ahead of the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur this month.
The trio of Muhd Anaqi Danish bin Asahrin, Mohammad Hardiwan Shah bin Rahim and Hajah Anis Sabrina binti Haji Yahya, who attended a two-week training stint at Hong Kong from June 28 to July 11, will be competing in the individual events with the male participants entered in the men’s sabre and the sole female representative in the women’s foil.
Muhd Anaqi Danish, who recently clinched bronze in the team’s event of the Southeast Asia Pacific Junior Championships in Manila, said that the feedback given to them in Hong Kong would stand them in good stead during their time in Kuala Lumpur.
“Training has been excellent. I have just returned from Manila to take part in warm-up games and before that I went to Hong Kong for training with the national team there,” said Muhd Anaqi Danish in an interview with the media.
“I feel really confident to give our best because we’ve had a really good preparation and there are also good warm-up games,” he continued.
He added that Malaysia will provide stern competition due to their strong junior line-up and Singapore which could stand in their way to success.
The fencing athlete vowed to deliver a good performance and give a good name to Brunei Darussalam.
Muhd Anaqi Danish said that they received advice from the Hong Kong’s Hungarian coach Andras Decsi which they could make good use at the SEA Games.
“Their (Hong Kong national team) coach from Hungary helps us a lot as well as their athletes who provided valuable tips for us on what an individual would face such as in the court where one have to be confident, to take their breath, prepare the steps that they will do point after point,” the national fencing athlete said.
“The head coach helped us a lot because they provided us training which is very beneficial including a daily sparring routine,” he added.
Muhd Anaqi Danish said that training was quite intensive due to the quantity of fencers there as opposed to the limited number of men’s fencers in Brunei.
“There are a lot of fencers there. Brunei only has five to six fencers. But there are maybe 15-16 male sabre fencers there and all of them are competitive,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, his compatriot Mohammad Hardiwan Shah echoed his sentiments that their Hong Kong training stint would provide them a world of good in their preparations for the SEA Games.
“I did learn a lot in Hong Kong with the advice and tips. Our time in Hong Kong was well spent and we trained really hard and were always punctual during the training sessions,” said the Brunei Open Fencing Championship silver medallist.
He agreed that his success in the Brunei Open provided him the confidence and helped instil high spirits in taking part in other competitions in preparation for the SEA Games.
Mohammad Hardiwan shared that Vietnam will be the biggest threat in the competition having heard that they underwent training in Korea.
“It will be a tough fight but I will try my best there. We will add more experience in the SEA Games,” concluded Mohammad Hardiwan.
The national fencing team for the SEA Games are currently in their final stages of their preparations and have been sparring with their Indonesian and Australian counterparts.
The male duo will not be joining the team’s sabre event as Malaysia will not be organising the category this year.
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