Kiria 'more relieved than excited' with bronze

In clinching a joint-bronze at the Asian Fencing Championships on June 19, Singapore epee fencer Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman finished on the podium of the continental meet for the first time.

- Samuel Tan

But the world No. 70 said she was "more relieved than excited" to win silverware for the Republic after she went down fighting in the semi-finals against South Korea's world No. 1 Song Se-ra, before losing 15-12 at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia.

"I was stuck at the top 16 for many years, sometimes even worse. It was good to just be out of that (round) for a bit and come home with a medal. I wanted to surpass my past results," the 24-year-old told The Straits Times.

The two-time Olympian had reached the round of 32 and round of 16 of the Asian championships in 2024 and 2023 respectively.

She added: "I wasn't really focused about putting that kind of stress (of winning a medal) on myself, but it was definitely a goal I had at the back of my mind."

Her coach Henry Koh, however, believes that she was being "very modest" with her evaluation of her performance.