WHEN one talks about fencing, fencers from European countries and the United States spring to mind.
But countries such as South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and China have churned out world-class fencers, too. They include Kim Jung-hwan (South Korea), Yuki Ota (Japan), Edgar Cheung Ka Long (Hong Kong) and Zhong Man (China), to name a few.
In Malaysia, we have the late Ronnie Ignatius Theseira, who represented the country in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was hailed as the father of Malaysian fencing.
We also have Joshua Koh, who won a gold medal at the SEA Games in Jakarta (2011), bronze in Kuala Lumpur (2017), and silver in the Philippines (2019).
He reportedly turned to crowdfunding for a shot at participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He decided to crowd fund after fencing was dropped from the National Sports Council's (NSC) Podium Programme following a poor outing at the 2017 SEA Games.
Yu Peng Kean was another prominent fencer who took part in the 2012 London Olympics.
He was the first Malaysian fencer to make it to the Olympics after Theseira did so 48 years ago.
Unfortunately, he had to retire from the sport in 2017 after a knee injury.
But despite the challenges, his unbending spirit has led him to start the Valor Fencing Academy with fellow fencer Husnul Ariq Bakri.
The academy in Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, specialises in sabre fencing and currently has 80 students.
"The training fee for fencing is not expensive but for a fencer to improve, he needs exposure.
"Taking part in competitions, especially in other countries, is very important as the student gets to observe the opponent's technique during sparring sessions.
"The flight, accommodation and meals of the student has to be borne by the parents, who also have to cover the expenses of the coaches accompanying the team.
"I do approach business owners for sponsorship but it is not easy to get sponsorship for fencing as it is a sport that is still developing, unlike badminton."
"So far, our academy has obtained sponsorship for sport massage and physiotherapy from kind partners," said Yu.
The Japanese national fencing team reportedly also faced a shortage of funds but the government as well as Japanese Olympic Committee increased their support in conjunction with the Tokyo Olympics. The move turned out to be a fruitful one as the team secured the country's first-ever fencing gold medal.
"Investing in a child's sport development can help deter him from going astray, especially during the teenage years. It may even win him a scholarship to study abroad," added Yu, who started fencing at the age of 13.
A fine example is Teh Zi Hao, a student at Sri Sempurna International School who is currently regarded as a fencing prodigy in Malaysia.
He took part in a national competition organised by the Malaysian Fencing Federation in February, where he won a gold medal in the junior category and a bronze medal in the cadet category.
This qualified him to take part in his first global competition held in Dubai in April, in which he earned a Top 4 ranking.
Teh said his parents had forked out RM8,000 for him to participate in the five-day competition.
"When I was 12, I met Kim Jung-hwan at a fencing bootcamp in South Korea and I remember feeling awed. My dream is for fencing to take me to the Olympics."
Teh now trains two to three hours daily, five days a week.
"After I returned from the Dubai event, the school told me I had been awarded a full scholarship, which was a pleasant surprise."
The economics of sports at times are hard to measure in terms of the tangible benefits but if done right, the multiplier effect, both economically and socially, can be huge.
What more, it also provides the chance for the young generation to make the country proud.
The writer was a journalist with the New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.