BIG SISTERS OFF THE PISTE

Fencers Berthier and Kiria set up initiative to provide mentorship to young athletes

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Fencers Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman (far left) and Amita Berthier will be hoping to add to their SEA Games medal haul in Thailand in December. They have six golds, two silvers and one bronze between them.

(ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI)

National fencers Amita Berthier and Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman were once wide-eyed teenagers in their sport.

But since striking gold on their SEA Games debuts in 2017 and 2019 respectively, the pair have risen quickly and reached the grandest stage of sport not once, but twice.

Armed with the experience, the two-time Olympians will go into the Dec 9-20 SEA Games as Fencing Singapore’s most seasoned campaigners. And while the primary goal remains to reach the top of the podium, Berthier, 24, and Kiria, 25, are looking beyond just making an impact on the piste.

After becoming Singapore’s first fencers to qualify for the Olympics in 2021, they want to be “big sisters” to the next generation of athletes here.

In April, the pair teamed up to launch a nonprofit initiative aimed at providing mentorship to young athletes. It is called BT Development, taking an initial from each fencer's name.

They have since conducted an online sharing session, a fencing clinic in June that attracted about 50 participants and a mentorship workshop for young people alongside fellow Olympians, sailor Ryan Lo and kayaker Stephenie Chen.