Asian fencing: Heartbreak continues for RP bets

The Philippines' heartbreaks continued as local bets fell to highly-touted foreign rivals one after the other Monday in the 2010 Asian Cadet and Junior Fencing Championships at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Andrea Ignacio, Justine Tinio, Wilhelmina Lozada and Karen Pangilinan all failed to reach deeper than the second round of the tournament as the foreigners sustained their charge.

Ignacio won over Negin Kafei Hernashki of Iran, 15-10; Tinio defeated Lim Shang Hui of Singapore, 15-4; Lozada beat Noura Al-Kuwari of Qatar, 15-10; and Pangilinan downed An Reum of Korea, 9-8, in the first round of the cadet girls’ individual foil event. However, the local bets stumbled against their respective rivals in the second round to bomb out of contention. Ignacio lost to Wong Ye Ying Liane of Singapore, 7-15; Lozada was defeated by Cheng Hiu Wai of Hong Kong, 12-15; Tinio was downed by eventual champion Yuki Yasuda of Japan, 5-15; and Pangilinan succumbed to Kaho Nasage of Japan, 3-15. Japan’s Yasuda and Korea’s Lee Jun Ho gave their respective countries their second gold medals in the event participated in by fencers aged 20 and below. Yasuda trounced Wong Ye Ying Liane of Singapore, 15-4, to win the cadet girls’ foil crown. On her way to the finals, Yasuda downed compatriot Kaho Nagase in the last four, 7-3, to set up a titular duel with Wong, who prevented an all-Japanese final by beating Fuko Takahashi, 15-8. Lee copped the cadet boys’ individual saber diadem after tripping Choi Gyu Hyun, 15-13. The Korean fencer beat Iran’s Sajjad Poursalmani, 15-9, compatriot Shim Jae Ho, 15-9, and Hong Kong’s Jackson Wang, 15-14, to reach the gold medal match. Japan’s first gold came from Riki Oishi in the cadet boys’ individual foil while Korea’s first mint came from Kim Ji Yeo in the cadet girls’ individual saber. - GMANews.TV