A roaring start for Asia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Asian fencers won the first two gold medals of the competition on Saturday July 27. The South Korean Sanguk Kor Ho won the individual saber, the Chinese from Hong Kong Vivian Man Wai (photo above) dominated the women's epee event. Asia continued in the same vein the next day, at the Grand Palais, but with a third country, Japan. Koki Kano, the world number 1, won the Olympic title in men's epee.
A dream start. But anything but a coincidence. Sheikh Salem Al Qasimi, President of the Asian Fencing Confederation, member of the FIE Executive Committee, explained this to FrancsJeux : fencing is developing rapidly in Asia. And it intends to continue at the same pace.
FrancsJeux : Three gold medals for Asia out of the four distributed during the first weekend of the Paris 2024 Games. What does such success inspire you?
Sheikh Salem Al Qasimi : This start of the competition obviously makes me very happy. It makes us all very proud. These Paris 2024 Games will represent a new important stage for Asian fencing, a marker of its development and progression. We have worked hard for a long time to develop fencing on the Asian continent, not just in the big countries of China, Japan and South Korea. We have a long-term vision and strategy, which encompasses the entire continent. They go through a greater number of coaches, clubs, competitions, training camps. But also, I would even say above all, through the development of our sport in children, from a very young age.
Did you expect such brilliant results from Asian fencers at the Paris 2024 Games?
They don't surprise me. We believed it was possible to continue winning gold medals, as we have been doing for a long time in major international competitions. Asian fencers have become very strong, both individually and in team events. They were already at the Tokyo 2020 Games. They continue to progress.
Is the development of fencing evident across the entire Asian continent?
Fencing is developing almost everywhere in Asia, but obviously not at the same speed and in comparable proportions. Some countries started investing in our sport earlier. But several federations still lack athletes, trainers, equipment... Our margin for progress remains significant.
What does fencing represent in Asia today?
The Asian Fencing Confederation currently has 40 national federations. This represents several thousand fencers and hundreds of clubs. The number of competitions continues to increase. I believe we can say that Asia is today the continent which hosts the greatest number of international FIE events. It is very important, in my eyes, to be able to show fencing to the public. This exhibition contributes to the development of our sport.
Several Asian countries, Japan in particular, use foreign coaches for their national teams. Is this an illustration of a lack of fencing coaches in Asia?
Looking abroad for recognized coaches and skills is always added value, especially at the very high level. But the growth of fencing in Asia also requires a growing number of local and national coaches, particularly women. We need more of them. We are aware of this and we are working in this direction. To do this, we have increased the number of training modules, online and physical, to increase the number of Asian coaches at all levels of practice.
What is your personal history in fencing?
I was never an elite fencer, but I always loved fencing. I became involved as an official at the national level, creating and chairing the United Arab Emirates Fencing Federation. Then I became president of the Arab Fencing Federation. And, since the last Olympics, president of the Asian Confederation. In my country, the United Arab Emirates, fencing has experienced rapid development in recent years. Today we have more than 800 fencers, a growing number of judges and officials, both men and women. Fencing has officially become an elite sport, practiced at school, a status that it shares with only five other sporting disciplines.
The Paris 2024 Games have only just begun. What do you expect for the rest and the end of the competitions?
The Grand Palais site is magnificent, the organization perfect. For fencing, these Games are already a success. But I expect even more medals for Asia from now on, including gold medals.
