HANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — Fencer Huang Qianqian achieved a outstanding feat on the Hangzhou Asian Games right here on Monday, turning into China’s first girl to win the person foil gold on the Asiad in 21 years.
The previous three months have been a rollercoaster for Huang as she competed within the Asian Championships, World Championships, and the Chengdu Universiade in each particular person and group occasions. Her journey led her to the Asian Games piste on the Hangzhou Dianzi University Gymnasium.
During the group stage, Huang secured 5 wins out of six matches, effortlessly defeating Chayada Smithisukul of Thailand with a rating of 15-7. Her subsequent problem was world No. 6, Sera Azuma, within the quarterfinals.
Huang’s final encounter with Azuma occurred throughout the ladies’s foil group last towards Japan on the 2023 Asian Championships in Wuxi, China, this June. In that match, Huang suffered a 10-2 defeat en path to China’s general lack of 45-27.
“I was completely outmatched,” Huang recalled of the bout. “I was struggling during that time, unable to find my best form, and my opponents had figured out how to exploit my weaknesses with targeted tactics.”
This interval was arguably essentially the most difficult in Huang’s fencing profession, as she had lower than a month to regulate and adapt earlier than heading to Milan for the World Championships.
“I rushed to acquire new skills, but improvement always takes time. I almost felt like giving up and cried daily. I had no confidence in myself whatsoever,” stated the 21-year-old, who had no selection however to persevere.
Despite being the youngest and the one member of the Chinese ladies’s foil group with out prior World Championships expertise, Huang in the end emerged as essentially the most spectacular.
She certified for the elimination rounds with six consecutive group victories and confronted seeded fencer Leonie Ebert of Germany within the spherical of 32. Huang trailed for a lot of the match however managed to take a one-point lead with simply seven seconds remaining. Despite receiving a penalty, Huang scored the decisive hit that propelled her into the final 16 at a significant worldwide competitors for the primary time.
“Ebert was also a left-hander, which made me uncomfortable. I told myself to give it my all for that crucial point,” stated Huang, who completed in fifteenth place in her World Championships debut, turning into the highest-ranked Chinese girl foil fencer in Milan.
“I learned a lot and made significant improvements. I regained my confidence.”
Just days after attaining her profession milestone, Huang participated within the Chengdu Universiade. As a junior at Fujian Normal University, she teamed up with Chen Qingyuan and Fu Yiting to safe a group gold, incomes her a spot on the Asian Games.
Facing Azuma as soon as once more in Hangzhou, Huang had a significantly better mindset. Despite falling behind from the very first level, Huang remained disciplined in her techniques, displaying persistence and fearlessness.
After mounting a outstanding comeback to drive a sudden-death scenario, Huang skillfully defended towards a robust lunge from Azuma after which superior on the piste to attain the essential level, beautiful the Japanese opponent with an 11-10 victory.
Following her victory over the highest-ranked girl foil fencer in Asia, Huang’s path to gold encountered no notably difficult moments as she comfortably defeated Hong Se-na of South Korea and Yuka Ueno of Japan to say her first-ever main title.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” stated Huang, who was initially shy and reserved within the combined zone. “I never thought I could make it to the final, so I gave it my all.”
When requested about her plans for celebrating her maiden title, Huang smiled and replied, “I just want to rest.”