Russian Olympic silver medallist in S’pore to share her experience

SINGAPORE: Fresh from her London Olympics silver medal win, Russian fencer Kamilla Gafurzianova, is in town to share her experience with young Singapore fencers.

Kamilla only knew a month ahead of the London Olympics that she had qualified to represent Russia at the Games. That did not deter the 24—year—old from going on to win a silver medal in the women’s foil team event.

She wanted to share that winning spirit with youngsters in Singapore, some of them from the national fencing team.

The left—handed fencer, who started fencing at 12, admits that Asia is closing the gap on Europe in some areas, as seen by the performance of the Korean and Chinese teams in London.

Already, the Kazan native is looking towards the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she wants to win gold.

She also brought her silver medal along, which proved a hit with the 20—odd fencers who turned up for the talk.

Kamilla said: "I told the kids that I have a special diet and special training programme for the Olympics. I did extra training beyond what the team did. I specifically got ready for each competition by writing down my strategy for each match."

Channel NewsAsia understands that Kamilla is looking at making a return trip to Singapore next year. For the long run through, she is considering having a more permanent association with Singapore Fencing in terms of developing the sport here.

—CNA/ac