| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI-MUARA fencer Anaqi Danish Asahrin captured his maiden title in the men’s sabre event at the Brunei Open Fencing Championship after a closely-fought 15-14 victory over teammate Mohd Haziq Asahrin in a brotherly affair at the Youth Centre in the capital yesterday.
Mohd Haziq Asahrin, the elder of the Asahrin brothers, enjoyed a bright start in his title defence with separate 4-1 and 6-2 leads in the halfway mark of a tense final.
But Anaqi Danish, who got into the final after a tough semi-final battle, clawed his way back into contention and recovered four successive points to ensure a nail-biting contest.
This year’s Brunei Open marked the first time that Anaqi Danish has struck gold after few attempts in previous editions.
He lost in the semi-final last year against his uncle Md Yunus Haji Abdul Hamid and exited the quarter-finals stage after a defeat to a Filipino fencer in 2017.
Anaqi enhanced his hopes of wresting the crown from his brother after he pulled a stunning effort in a 15-13 win over Nilai University’s Adam Nicholas Linbichler.
The pair met recently at the 3rd ASEAN University Fencing Championship with the Malaysian emerging victorious but now the roles have reversed.
“I met (Adam) in the quarterfinal of the ASEAN University Fencing Championship. In Nilai, I lost against him 15-13 but in Brunei I met him again in the semi-finals where I beat him by the same score-line,” said Anaqi Danish in an interview with the Bulletin.
“My brother (Haziq) is a strong opponent and we know how each other plays. In the final, it is down to having a bigger heart to win,” he added.
Anaqi Danish, who is still studying in sixth form, shared that he is balancing his time between his ‘A’ Levels and his fencing.
“Our training for now is three hours so for me we train our fullest during that time. When I come home, I focus on my studies. I am trying to balance my education and sport.”
The bronze medallists for the men’s sabre events were Malaysia’s Adam Nicholas Linbichler and Eu Wen Wong.
Meanwhile, Brunei-Muara’s Anis Sabrina binti Hajah Yahya emerged winner of the women’s foil category in a victorious return to the discipline after defeating Malaysia’s Fathiah Syazliyana Samsudin 15-13.
The national fencer was plagued with illness last Friday as she made her final preparations towards the two-day tournament, where she also won silver in women’s sabre.
“I am thankful that my sickness does not affect my game. It has been a long time since I last played foil because I used to play foil a lot in the last two years.
“I was a representative in the SEA Games in 2017 in women’s foil. It was a good opportunity to come back to play foil for Brunei.”
Asked about her immediate plans after the tournament, she replied, “I might continue my training after this and I look forward to another competition because I think I need to go for a lot of exposure competitions for the sabre event.”
Malaysia’s Zarith Amiera Khir Azman and Putri A Elisa Isabela Megat Iskandar won joint bronze.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Jing Xuan Yap won gold in the women’s epee after defeating Brunei’s Alina Ali in the final. Brunei’s pair of Nadhirah Mohd Salleh and Nurul Massanita Baharuddin won shared bronze.
There were also under-12 individual competitions for boys’ and girls’ foil events with Abdul Waiz bin Hashim and Nur Harisah binti Harrisman Ashady, winning the final respectively.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin presented the prizes.