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Mission Olympics: ASI’s fencing cadets’ major medal thrust
Getting used to European fencing terms may not merely be lingua franca for the piste. For these cadets it is the heart and soul of their Olympic preparations.
The fencing premises at the Army Sports Institute (ASI), referred to on campus as the fencing hall, is packed with boy cadets in action the day HT visits. The cadets, all between the ages 11 to 18, are practising different moves and stances.
Across three practice pistes, or strips, duels are on.
To the uninitiated, all look the same, but as coach Deepak Singh Patial points out, “There are three events in fencing; epee (hails from Spain), sabre (Hungary) and the foil (France). At the ASI, we have at present 28 boys. We hold an induction rally twice in a year where coaches travel across India talent spotting. We look for psychological and physiological aspects like leg and hand coordination. Arm span and good strength in the lower limbs is perfect for fencing.”
Dev Narwal (16), is one who was spotted by an ASI talent scout. “He hails from a small village in Haryana and has been fencing very well,” says Patial, the proud coach.
Narwal is now part of the Boys Sports Company, where the Sports authority of India (SAI) foots the nutrition bill, and ASI takes care of education, training and accommodation
Patial points to a group of boys mimicking moves staring at their reflection in mirrors. “They are new recruits and practising footwork, which is very importance,” says Patial.
On the practice piste, one of the recruit is now busy aiming at spots on a mounted sheet of paper, while others are back to working on their stance with a coach.
Besides ASI, there are fencing training camps in Nashik and Aurangabad as well in Maharashtra.
”This program began after the win by Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games. Fencing was selected to be part of ‘mission Olympics’, because of the huge number of medals at stake in the Olympics and the Asian Games,” says Major Ruchi Trikha, the officer in charge of fencing at the ASI.
This sport is still not easily understood by the masses, but it is the Army that has a very big role in raising awareness about fencing. “Fencing is very technical skill sport, with tactics and techniques. We have various training methodologies using Russian, Hungarian and French techniques, and we have had foreign coaches training the boys here too,” says Major Trikha.
ASI’s young fencers pierce a new Olympic medal goal
The Army sports institute here in Pune is building a platoon of fencers who are piercing a new range of sports excellence for the country.
The results are beginning to show. At a junior Commonwealth fencing meet in Newcastle, UK, between July 23 and 30, 2018, cadet RS Sherjin, a 16-year-old from the Boys Sports Company, Army Sports Institute (ASI), claimed gold in the Epee cadet category.
India won 16 medals at this cadet fencing championships - four gold, four silver and eight bronze.
“Fencing is a sport which hails from Europe and is now popular in Maharashtra,” says Major Ruchi Trikha, the officer in charge of fencing at the ASI.
Major Trikha has been fencing and competing at the international level since 2006. As India stays on cue for it’s maximum medal haul at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia, it is worth noting that the sport has 36 medals up for grabs at the Olympics.
“We had a team of 50 fencers in the UK. In the team event we won one bronze and we won a silver in the sabre category,” Major Trikha says.
Maharashtra’s Girish Jakate, an 18-year-old studying at the ASI also won a gold, while Avinash Bharade won a bronze.
“Indian cadet fencers have already started making their presence felt in the international arena. It is the relentless effort of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Fencing Association of India that are promoting the sport.The ASI, Pune, under the Army’s ‘mission Olympics’ programme is creating a conveyer belt in terms of infusing and nurturing fresh talent in this highly skilled game,” MajorTrikha adds.
