Shao raring to put rivals to sword

After claiming the women's individual sabre gold and team bronze at the National Fencing Championships in Nanjing over the holiday weekend, China's Shao Yaqi has high expectations for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

In the individual event, world No 4 Shao cruised through to the final, where she edged national teammate Yang Hengyu 15-13. In the team event, Shao led Tianjin to a 45-35 victory over Shanghai.

"I feel good in general but there's still room for improvement," said Shao. "I am more confident now and the team is bonding with good chemistry, which is really helpful for the upcoming Olympic Games."

China has never been crowned world champion in the women's sabre, while the country's best results in the discipline at the Olympics are Tan Xue's individual silver at the 2004 Athens Games and a team silver at Beijing 2008.

The 24-year-old Shao won bronze at the Sabre World Cup in France in 2019, so is quietly confident about her chances of making the podium at this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

"Everyone wants to fight for the gold, both the individual and team events," said the Tianjin native. "Of course it won't be easy because Russia, France and Italy are all medal contenders. But we will try to achieve good results.

"Our foreign coach has been helping us with skills and tactics, strengthening what we are already good at and working on what we still need to improve."

The women's individual and team sabre events of the Tokyo Olympics will take place on July 26 and 31 respectively.

Xinhua