Asian Games: Singapore fencer Lau Ywen rues 'factors out of her control' after elimination
Lau Ywen was left frustrated by various decisions throughout the round of 16 bout. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
JAKARTA: It was only the first official day of competition at the 2018 Asian Games on Sunday (Aug 19) but national fencer Lau Ywen's campaign was already over when she was knocked out of the women's individual sabre event.
Lau lost to Japan's Norika Tamura 7-15, in what was largely a frustrating round of 16 encounter for the 18-year-old Singaporean.
Within a few minutes of the start, she was left trailing 1-5 as her coach David Chan contested several decisions made by the officials.
She tried to get herself back into the tie, but the gap ultimately proved too big for Lau as Tamura clinched the points in the crucial duels.
Speaking to the media after the bout, Lau said: "Sometimes it can be really frustrating because there are things that are out of your control and you’re not fencing at a level where you should be."
In the preliminary stage of the competition, she won two bouts out of four, beating her opponent from Kazakhstan Aigerim Sarybay 5-4 and Thailand’s Ngernrungruangroj 5-3. She lost to Chinese opponent Shao Yaqi 1-5 and Hong Kong’s Karen Chang 2-5.
Coach Chan stressed that the round of 16 elimination was not reflective of Lau's performance, and maintained that she "actually fenced well, especially considering the high level of the opponent".
"So what was unfortunate was perhaps some of the refereeing decisions (that) did not go in our favour. So these things can happen in any sport so it's something she needs to learn to deal with and adapt to, and this probably can come with experience," added Chan.
Lau is hopeful that the lessons learnt in Jakarta will put her in good stead for future tournaments.
"I want to get the ability to adapt to these situations more easily so if something comes up that I wasn't really prepared for, I want to be able to change much quicker," said Singapore's 2017 Sports Girl of the Year winner.
"Especially since the opponent I competed with in the round of 16 was an experienced fencer. She’s top 20 in the world and she’s a really good athlete, so against her I really need to adapt and change fast," Lau added.
Lau was also kicked out at the round of 16 of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, when she made her debut as a 14-year-old.
She made history in 2016 when she became the first Southeast Asian to win a fencing world championship after clinching the cadet girls' sabre title.
Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.
