Our Singaporean athletes continue to make us proud at the 31st SEA Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam. Earlier this week, silat athlete Iqbal Abdul Rahman won Singapore its first gold medal at the games.
Today (13 May), 14-year-old fencer Elle Koh earned Singapore’s second gold in her SEA Games debut.
She was up against fellow Singaporean Kiria Tikanah, who was the defending champion of the women’s individual epee event.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Singapore had secured its second gold medal as both finalists of the women’s individual epee competition were Singaporean.
In the semifinal match, Elle won against Vietnam’s Hong Vu Thi 15-14 and Kiria beat Thailand’s Korawan Thanee 15-12.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
In the end, Elle edged 21-year-old Kiria, the defending champion, with a score of 12-11.
The victory was even sweeter for Elle, the second youngest athlete on Team Singapore, as this was her SEA Games debut.
After this match, Singapore currently holds two gold, six silver, and five bronze medals at the 31st SEA Games.
Even at her young age, Elle has been training in fencing for 10 years now, ever since she was only four, as reported by The Straits Times (ST).
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
This comes as no surprise as her parents are none other than Juliana Seow, the president of Fencing Singapore, and Henry Koh, a national partner epee coach.
When she was four years old, Elle reportedly trained at least twice a week during the weekends.
However, her abilities were far beyond her age as she often practised with older fencers.
At 11, she began fencing competitively and achieved stellar results in several open competitions.
Her SEA Games triumph is thus a well-deserving one, after all her hard work and dedication.
To achieve a SEA Games gold medal at the tender age of 14 is nothing short of impressive.
We hope that Elle’s story of perseverance and hard work inspires others to pursue their dreams, regardless of age.
Whatever the outcome of the coming SEA Games matches may be, let’s all continue cheering our athletes on.
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Featured image adapted from Edwin Tong on Facebook.
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