Singapore #1 Women’s Epeeist Kiria produced a brilliant performance at the Doha Grand Prix 2023 when she went on a 4-1 record in a 6-fencer poule. A nervous start saw one match dropped against an opponent from Egypt, but she defeated top fencers from Romania and China to clinch emphatic victories in the rest of the bouts.
In the preliminary direct eliminations, she beat the top Japanese fencer (by FIE ranking) 15-11 to earn her a coveted berth in the final 64. Her next opponent was the highly fancied Olympian and 2019 World Champion Nathalie Moellhausen from Brazil.
Initially, Kiria was caught flat-footed too many times and did not control the distance well enough, quickly losing out 1-5. The middle of the bout saw Kiria storm back with masterful touches to 4-6, but despite her tenacity, the much more experienced managed to hold off Kiria to close the bout out at 13-8. Kiria had fought valiantly, but the opponent was in fine form; indeed, Moellhausen would go on to win the entire competition that day.
Singapore #4 Men’s Epeeist Jefferson also did fairly well in his competition, going 3-3 against his opponents. He even managed to beat Alimov from Uzbekistan who would later go on to defeat World and Olympic Champion Cannone of France.
In the preliminary direct eliminations, he had to go up against one of the higher seeds from Italy. After a confident start, Jeff managed to lead the opponent 9-6. Unfortunately, the much more experienced and patient opponent managed to overcome the lead to close out the match 15-11.