China hits ground running at World Fencing Championships

Two fencers compete on the first day of the 2018 World Fencing Championships in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on July 19. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese fencers got off to a strong start on the first day of the 2018 World Fencing Championships in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on July 19, as eight athletes secured qualifications for two individual events.

Hou Guangjuan and Lin Shen secured slots for the women's individual epee while Xu Yingming, Lu Yang, Yan Yinghui and Wang Shi did so in the men's sabre.

Both Hou and Xu swept home to comfortable victories by vanquishing all their six opponents in pools.

"I want to try my best as there are many Chinese people here watching the game with interest and enthusiasm," said Xu, who scored gold in the men's team sabre in the just concluded Asian Fencing Championships in Bangkok in June.

He added that he was stressed out prior to the competition, but that on the bright side that had brought him "a sense of motivation".

Hou and Lin, along with two Chinese epee fencers, Olympic bronze medalist Sun Yiwen and World Cup champion Zhu Mingye, who skipped the qualifier, shall compete in the 32 rounds of the women's epee scheduled to be held on July 22.

Other qualifiers for individual events such as the women's foil and men's epee will take place in the next two days.

The championships, which run until July 27, will see roughly 1,370 of the world’s top fencers from 108 countries and regions competing in 12 individual and team events in epee, foil, and sabre.

In Nov 2015, Wuxi was awarded the rights to host the 2018 World Fencing Championships by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), beating the Japanese city of Fukuoka with 69 votes against 47, to become the first city in China to hold the event.