SINGAPORE – Fencer Amita Berthier will be making her second outing at the Olympics after qualifying for the Paris Games on March 17.
The three-gold SEA Games champion secured her spot via her individual ranking points. Berthier, ranked 28th in the world in the women’s foil, claimed crucial points at the Grand Prix in Washington DC by finishing joint-20th.
The 23-year-old said: “I’m pleased to be able to lock up a spot in Paris, that has been my goal for the past two years.
“For the next three months, I will be able to focus fully on honing my skills under the tutelage of our foil head coach, Oleg Matseichuk, back in Singapore, and I’m hoping to do Singapore proud at the Olympics.”
Matseichuk backed Berthier to shine at the July 26-Aug 11 Games. The Ukrainian said: “Amita is by far our best hope at the Olympics. We will endeavour to do the best for her by way of preparing her fully for the Games in the next three months.”
Fencing Singapore president Juliana Seow added: “Amita has yet again crested a new high for Singapore. We will give her the full support that she needs, as we have always endeavoured to...
“I thank the Singapore Sports Institute and Sport Singapore for rendering the assistance on this Olympic journey.”
She will hope more local fencers are able to join Berthier.
The Republic is sending six fencers – one each in men and women’s foil, epee and sabre – to compete in the April 27-28 Asian zonal qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates. The winner from each event will qualify for the Olympics.
In 2021, Berthier and epee fencer Kiria Tikanah were the first Singaporeans fencers to qualify outright for the Olympics. They bowed out in the round of 32 in Tokyo.
James Wong and Ronald Tan competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but they did not have to go through a qualification campaign then.
Singapore’s fencing squad returned empty-handed from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, a stark contrast from the gold-laden campaign at May’s SEA Games.
In Phnom Penh, they racked up seven golds, three silvers and six bronzes to finish as the top nation.
In October 2023, Singapore Fencing’s technical director Marko Milic had announced that the association’s moonshot goal is a podium finish at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Aside from Berthier, other Singaporeans who have qualified for Paris 2024 include sprinter Shanti Pereira (women’s 200m), sailors Maximilian Maeder (formula kite) and Ryan Lo (men’s laser) and equestrienne Caroline Chew.
They will be joined by swimmers Jonathan Tan (men’s 50m freestyle), Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen, Letitia Sim and Levenia Sim (women’s 4x100m medley) and Letitia (women’s 100m breaststroke).
